Kopa's Legacy — Book IV: The Prince's Retribution
by Incarnate Firefly
Summary: Reunited with his family, Kopa begins to piece together his past with the help of his friends. But there is little time for recollection, as news spreads that Janga has left the Serengeti for mysterious reasons. With her absence from what's left of her pride, Kopa takes his chance at last to deliver his long-awaited revenge... [Readers' rating: 9.4/10]
1. Prologue

Janga opened her eyes as the sound of distant thunder rumbled across the darkened sky. She stared up at the colossal storm clouds that loomed over them; they stretched so far across the grasslands that they blocked out the sun and gave the illusion that night had come early. It wouldn't be long before the rain started coming down.

_I guess it's time then_. With the premature darkness and the promise of an imminent storm, she knew that her opportunity would come soon.

Standing up from the grassy patch where she had been sleeping all day, Janga marched down into the trenches that ran between the countless hill clusters where the survivors of her pride were camped. They were also resting or talking quietly among themselves, looking weary or relieved, but without any sign of the bitterness that she thought at least some of them would show. _So they don't blame me for what happened at Mount Tempest. Well, that should make my plan much easier._

_And the blame I hold for myself is enough to remind me to be more careful with the lives of those who follow me.._. With only twenty-two lions left in her pride, Janga knew that she could not repeat the mistakes that had turned the odds against her so quickly at the last battle of Mount Tempest. Malka must have destroyed the stronghold by now and most of her pride with it. Quite a ruthless and effective way to cripple her plan to defeat the two prides in battle. Janga wondered if he was dead now, and had to admit that it was valiant feat. _Giving up his life for his pride? How ironic that I've done the exact opposite, running away and leaving them to die..._

_There wasn't anything else I could've done,_ she reminded herself sternly as she padded up a short hill to get a clearer view of the lions scattered around the camp. _I had a responsibility to those I haven't failed, the ones I could still save. I had to be rational..._

_It still wasn't right,_ Janga thought as she spotted the two lions she was looking for, both of whom were walking along the edge of the camp, murmuring in low voices. _I can't undo the damage now. But I can still make it right._

※※※

"She won't approve," Kivuli muttered as she walked along the winding trench. She stared ahead rather stiffly, deliberately avoiding the gaze of the other lion walking with her.

"It's a chance," Jeraha said. "Listen, if Malka really collapsed Mount Tempest, we would have heard it, or felt it, even. If we go back—"

"Then we'll find ourselves surrounded and killed," she snapped, still not looking at him. "Come on, Jeraha. You're not this stupid—"

"We should at least go back and see for ourselves," he insisted, a tone of impatience entering his voice. "We should be able to tell from a distance if the mountain is at least still standing or not. We won't have to be close enough for them to scent us."

Now her eyes were on him. Her expression was disdainful. "And then what? How do you suggest we manage to open one of the entrances before we're surrounded by more than fifty lions? You remember how hard it was for us to unblock them last time. It's not going to happen."

Jeraha didn't reply. Kivuli took his silence as reluctant agreement, and added, "Besides, there could be patrols anywhere close to Mount Tempest. It's too risky." She stopped talking as she saw Janga appear over a nearby hill, and turned her attention to her instead as their leader made her way down towards them.

The first thing Kivuli noticed was that the medicinal herbs she had given Janga hadn't done much to heal the scar over her left eye. It had been inflicted by Kopa in a brief scuffle at Mount Tempest, and she knew that it irked Janga not because of the physical discomfort but because it marked her like her hated father, Scar. Kivuli knew that it was unlikely that she could remove the scar, but had decided it was worth a try. At the moment, however, it seemed Janga had other things on her mind.

"Come with me, you two," she said shortly, leading them through the trench that led out of the hills and towards the edges of the Serengeti plains. Wordlessly, Kivuli and Jeraha followed, waiting for her to reveal what was on her mind.

Janga got right to the point. "I've been thinking of a new plan. It's clear that we can't defeat the two prides with our numbers cut short."

"There could be more tracking teams close by," Jeraha pointed out. "We've already doubled our numbers when we found some of them—"

"No," she interrupted. "We won't find any more tracking teams even if there are a few stragglers. I _know_ how many lions I sent into Mount Tempest. We've lost too many already."

He tried again. "But what if they're not dead—"

"Jeraha, I don't have time for this," Janga said sharply. Kivuli shot him an irritated look that told him to keep quiet. "Right now we've managed to give the two prides the slip, but I don't know how long that will last. I need to act fast for the next part of my plan. And I need you both to be at your best."

"What do you want us to do, Janga?" Kivuli asked. Her friend closed her eyes and ran one paw down the scar on her face. She took a deep breath and exhaled slowly.

"I need you both to lead the pride. I'm heading out on my own, and I'm going to find the Keepers."

"The—!" There was disbelief etched on Jeraha's face. "You're going to do it now?"

"I don't see any other choice," she said quietly. "I'm hoping to find them quickly enough and bring them back before the two prides find us and wipe us out. You'll have to move camp every few days to avoid getting caught. But I know you can do it."

"Yes, but..." Kivuli exchanged shocked glances with Jeraha before looking at Janga in the eye. "The Keepers are still looking for Mheetu and those hyenas. They would have sent word by now if they found him—"

"I know," Janga replied. "But as much as I want Mheetu dead, I can wait a little longer if I have to. This is far more urgent, and the Keepers will know it."

"But what if Zamaradi says no?" Kivuli insisted. "You know how stubborn she is, and all the other leaders all listen to her. I think she wants Mheetu dead more than you do, when that cheetah disappeared the same night he did—"

Janga was looking off to the side, and an air of uncertainty hovered around her being. "I'll convince her," she murmured, although her voice was dull. "I have to try." She looked up. "In the meantime, I have to ask the both of you to keep the two prides distracted. Don't let them know that I've left. I _will_ come back, you know I'll never leave you behind. I'm counting on you two."

Kivuli and Jeraha were quiet for a long time. They just kept walking, accompanying Janga farther and farther from the camp. As a steady downpour of rain began to drizzle down on them, they reached the edge of the hills and stopped. Jeraha gave a slow nod. "We'll do whatever's necessary, Janga. Good luck."

Janga nodded stiffly. It was clear that this decision was a difficult one, regardless of the sense in it. "Keep yourselves safe. Don't put yourselves in danger if you don't have to." Without another word, she turned and dashed off swiftly into the plains, soon vanishing into the darkness and the thickening canopy of rain.

Kivuli just stared after her, feeling Jeraha's gaze directed at the back of her head. She wondered if Janga was aware of the discussion they had been having just now, and whether she thought the two of them could come to terms with their disagreements or really held the utmost trust in them.

_This isn't going to be easy_, Kivuli thought with a grimace as she headed back towards the camp, ignoring Jeraha's gaze. Janga had always been the leader because she was able to balance out the discord that was always present in some subtle way between her two friends, and had a way of coming up with ideas that all three of them could agree with. _Not to mention, she's just a lot better at this whole leadership thing_. Kivuli knew that the differences between her and Jeraha would never force them into becoming enemies. But when it came to leading a pride equally, even for a short time, there would be a lot of complications in many of what would otherwise be easy decisions. _We'll figure it out...somehow_...

※※※

_There she is. Get her. Get her now!_

From his hiding spot at the bottom of the hills behind a tall thicket of grass, Kopa tensed as he watched Janga running off alone. He saw Kivuli and Jeraha heading the other way, and he knew that they were quite a ways from the pride's camp. It would be so easy to break cover and run after Janga, bring her down and kill her. _Do it! The others won't hear a thing—_

_No. Stop_. He dug his claws into the earth as if he were actually fighting for control for his body over his own impulsiveness. _Sound carries easily in the plains. And the others will scent me. The pride will come running._

_She's right there! What are you waiting for? She's getting away!_

_No. Let her go. It's not worth it._

_You have to do it. For him. She killed him to mock you. She has to pay._

The rain was coming down harder now. Janga was gone, and Kopa slumped against the side of the hill, feeling the tension disappear from his being. He didn't realize how hard it was to have to fight against himself. It was unnerving how easily he could give in to a savage rage without realizing it.

_What am I doing? Why am I still here?_ Kopa got up, remembering that he must have been gone the whole day. He had snuck away from Mount Tempest before dawn, and it had taken him the entire morning to find the trail Janga's pride had tried to cover up. By now, it was almost evening, and he had to get back before the others became worried. The entire time he had no idea what he was going to do once he found Janga's pride.

_I can go back and lead our teams to them_, he decided. _Now that Janga's gone, we can do some damage and maybe even defeat them. We'll deal with her when she comes back._

Kopa shook the moisture that had accumulated in his fur and started running, cutting around the hills on the opposite side of the pride camp. It would be a much quicker trip back now that he knew where he was going. It wasn't even that far from Mount Tempest, which would make finding the camp much easier.

_Your time will come, Janga,_ he thought, spurred on by the thought of confronting her again. _You'll come back to find your entire pride dead_. He would make sure that she knew it was his doing, so that she would come find him. Which was exactly what he wanted.

_I still owe you one for Tumaini. Don't you forget that._

* * *

**[Original Character Names]**  
**Janga:** Disaster**  
Malka:** Queen**  
Kivuli:** Shadow**  
Jeraha:** Wound**  
****Zamaradi:** Emerald**  
Tumaini:** Hope

**[Canon Character Names]  
****Scar:** Scar (English)******  
Mheetu:** Me too (Africanization)  
******Kopa:** Heart


	2. Preparations

"_Pure hearts stumble, __in my hands, they crumble_,  
_ Fragile and stripped to the core_, _I can't hurt you anymore._

_Loved by numbers,_ y_ou're losing life's wonders_  
_Touch like strangers detached,_ _I can't feel you anymore_.

_The sunshine trapped in our hearts, it could rise again_,  
_But I'm lost, crushed, cold and confused,_  
_With no guiding light left inside._

_When comfort and warmth can't be found, I still reach for you,_  
_ But I'm lost, crushed, cold and confused,_  
_ With no guiding light left inside._

_You're my guiding light._"

—Muse

* * *

It was well past midnight by the time Kopa made it back to Mount Tempest. The storm clouds that hovered over the distant hills had already passed over the mountains, leaving a thin layer of mist blanketing the air and a slight dampness in the grass. He slowed down just as he neared the clearing, trying not to let his panting be heard. He could see a few lions patrolling on this side of the mountain, and kept his movements silent, making sure they couldn't see him. _I'm just going to catch my breath before I walk back. If anyone asks, I didn't go too far..._

"Where have you been?"

Kopa jumped at the sound of the voice. He turned around to see Vitani standing behind him, one eyebrow raised. He tried to hide his ragged breathing and put on an innocent expression. "Oh, me? I just...went for a run."

He could tell immediately that he wasn't fooling her. "A very long run, from the looks of it," she said. "And look at you, hiding here like this. What's with that?"

"I'm not hiding," he protested. "You saw me, didn't you?"

Vitani scoffed. "Kopa, don't play dumb with me. Everyone says I'm the best tracker in the pride. I can tell when someone doesn't want to be seen. And besides, no one's seen you all day. Where'd you go off to?"

"I went for a walk," he lied. "Nowhere too far. Just did a few runs around the mountain. To get a good idea of the land around here, you know."

Her suspicious look softened slowly, although she was still watching him closely. "Just be careful, okay? I don't think Simba would like the idea of you running off alone. Come on."

"Can't be any worse than staying here with all those lions lurking inside the mountain," Kopa pointed out as he followed her onto the clearing surrounding Mount Tempest.

"We're figuring out what to do about them now," said Vitani. "And Simba wants to talk to you about something."

She brought him around the mountain to where a small group of lions were gathered away from where the others were sleeping. They were speaking in low voices, and it was clearly something important.

"...maybe enough to collapse it now," Siri was saying. "It was a big storm."

Afua shook his head. "It's still not enough. I've been up to the basin when Janga attacked us and I saw how empty it was. We're going to need to gather a lot more rain before we can do it."

"It's not safe to enter the mountain right now anyway," Malka added. "Those lions have had plenty of time to plan an escape, and the last thing I want is for any of us to head into a trap."

"We need to deal with them soon," Kovu said. "Keeping them in there is making everyone nervous. We can't just hope that they'll die on their own."

Malka sighed. "You're right. Whatever we're going to do, we have to open the passages at some point. Does anyone have a plan?"

The others were silent. "The easiest thing to do is to just fight them head-on," said Kovu slowly.

"But we'll definitely lose a lot of our own before we'd kill every last one of them," Simba sighed. "I don't like that idea."

"Neither do I," said Siri. "And they could be ready for us now. Once we go in, anything could happen."

"It's unlikely that they've regrouped just yet," Afua pointed out. "And they don't know how to get around Mount Tempest, so we'll have the advantage there."

"It's a chance we're going to have to take," Kovu said firmly. "I'll lead the first team in tomorrow morning."

The group all turned their heads as Vitani approached with Kopa. Nala, who was sitting between Simba and Ni, hurried over and nuzzled him. "Kopa, there you are. I've been trying to find you all day. Where have you been?"

"He was going for a walk," Vitani said, in a tone that suggested she was only repeating his words. Simba noticed this and gave Kopa an inquisitive look.

"I'm okay, mom," he murmured, feeling a bit embarrassed that Nala was treating him like a cub in front of everyone. "Just had to clear my head, that's all."

She sighed. "We just don't want to lose you again, son. Were you having nightmares again?"

He nodded, keeping his eyes averted from Malka and Afua. Almost every night since he had been reunited with his family, he had been having nightmares about Tumaini. He would believe that he could save him, and sometimes it would even appear that way, and then every time he would fail and watch as Janga murdered Tumaini before his very eyes. Kopa would always wake up then, never having the chance to strike back at her, to hurt her for what she did. And each time he woke up, it still felt so real.

_The only way I'm going to find closure is if I kill her myself. She can't escape me like she always does in the dream_.

"What do you think, Kopa?" Simba asked. Kopa gave a start and pushed aside his thoughts.

"What?" he said distractedly.

"I said, maybe we can find another pride for help," his father repeated. "Have you met any other prides on your way here?"

He shook his head. "I didn't really travel much outside the forest on the other side of the plains. And when Tumaini and I—" He fought back a tightness in his throat. "—when we found Siri, she told us which way to go, and we headed straight for the Pridelands."

"I haven't seen any trace of another pride on my way here," Ni said. "But now that you mention it, I might have another idea. It's a bit of a stretch, but..."

"At this point, I'm willing to take any option we have," said Malka. "Go ahead, Ni."

He looked down at his paws. "Well...you all remember how I told you about how my pride was forced to split up to escape Janga. If I head back to find them..."

"...then you'll be putting yourself in danger too," Malka finished for him, already knowing what he was suggesting.

Ni looked up, not seeming to be fazed by this. "You just said you were going with any options we have, Malka. If I bring them back here, we'll outnumber Janga by a wide margin and that means fewer casualties on our side. Besides," he murmured. "They're my pride, and I have a responsibility for their safety. And I made a promise to Nala to help her find one of them."

"Mheetu," Simba said quietly.

Ni nodded. "No one knows Janga like Mheetu does. Not even those two cohorts of hers. If anyone knows how to stop her, it would be him."

"We're leaving the next afternoon," said Nala. It was clear that she had discussed this with Ni already. No one argued this decision.

Malka turned his gaze from one to the other, contemplating the idea. Finally, he said slowly, "Very well, then. In the meantime, I suggest we get some rest. Afua, Siri, go wake Hamu and Kafiri for the next patrol."

"I'll get Chumvi and Sabini up as well," said Vitani. Kopa waited as the others left, before turning his attention to Simba.

"Vitani said you wanted to talk to me, father?" he asked. Simba nodded, beckoning for Kovu and Nala to come over as well.

"I've been meaning to make a decision lately," the king said. "I've contemplated it for a while, but I guess now's a good time as any since I don't know how long Nala is going to be gone." He looked around at all of them before returning his gaze to his son. "Kopa, I'm putting you in charge of the pride."

Whatever it was Kopa had been expecting, it wasn't that. "Me?" he said disbelievingly. "I can't—I don't think I—but you—"

"I don't think I'll be moving around very much for a while," Simba said pointedly. "Don't worry, you can always come to me if you're not sure of what to do. But someone needs to keep an eye on everything, and I can't do that if I'm spending most of the day resting or sleeping."

"What about Kovu?" he asked, glancing over at the dark-furred male. "He's been in the pride longer, hasn't he? He's got to be more experienced than me for leading."

"Kovu will be in charge of the combat teams," Simba said. "He'll be focusing his efforts on dealing with the lions inside Mount Tempest. I'm expecting you two to work together."

"We will, Simba," said Kovu, who didn't seem to have a problem with this decision at all. "Rest well."

Simba nodded. "You should both get some sleep too. You've got a long day ahead tomorrow."

Kopa was about to say something more, but Kovu then turned around and walked off. The young prince stared at his father for a moment before following. Simba relaxed and rested his face in his paws. Nala lay down next to him. "I don't know if Kopa is up to this," she said quietly. "He's right, he doesn't have experience with being a leader."

"He has to learn sometime, Nala," Simba murmured. "He _is_ going to be the next king."

"I know that, but...I feel like you rushed into this decision."

"I'll be watching him closely, don't worry. Everything will be fine."

Nala didn't look so sure about this. "He's still grieving about his friend, Simba. It could cloud his judgement. He might not be ready for this."

"Nala, we have to trust him. This is supposed to help him become part of the pride again, not put pressure on him. It'll work out, you'll see."

She sighed and closed her eyes. "I hope you're right."

※※※

_Kopa was running down the dark stony passageway as fast as he could, his heart racing frantically. He didn't know where he was going, but he knew he couldn't stop. Adrenaline and fear was pumping through his being. He couldn't remember exactly where he was, but he didn't like this place at all. He didn't know which way was out, although escape wasn't what was driving him._

"_Tumaini!" he heard himself shout, his voice echoing through the enclosed space as he followed the curve of the passage. It couldn't be far now. He still had time..._

_There it was, up ahead. The chamber where he knew Tumaini would be. Kopa put on an extra burst of speed as he neared the entrance, feeling his fear give way to determination_. I can do it. I know I can do it. _He burst into the chamber, and—_

_It was empty. The place was barren and there were no other hallways leading out of it. Kopa looked around, knowing by instinct that he was in the right place, but he had no idea what he was going to do now. He turned to look back at the passage he had just come in through, but where it was just a moment ago was now a solid rock face. He was trapped._

"_Let me out!" Kopa shouted, not out of panic, but anger. He didn't know who or what he was talking to, but it was stalling him, keeping him from saving Tumaini when he was so close._

_He dashed towards where the hallway had been, and in a fit of reckless, unchecked fury, slammed one clenched paw into the wall. But instead of the shock of pain he had expected to feel, a spiderweb of cracks formed along the solid stone, before breaking apart into small sharp pieces and falling to the floor in a shower of clicks._

_And then the entire wall encircling him shattered unexpectedly, revealing a transparent layer of wall underneath. Kopa froze when he saw another chamber encasing the one he was in. And standing on the other side was Janga, Tumaini—and himself._

_They didn't seem to notice the way that the stone wall had just shattered, or even saw him at all, even though Janga was right next to the wall, her back turned to him. Tumaini was even looking over her shoulder and straight at him. Kopa tried to break his way through the wall, clawing and pounding it with every bit of energy he had, wanting to break it the way he did the stone. But it was no good; his efforts didn't leave so much as a scratch on it._

_Janga was speaking. And he recognized exactly what she was saying, word for word. "You've already ruined my chances of taking Simba's pride by surprise. Don't push your luck, Kopa. Or I may just have to silence you right now."_

_"Then do it," Kopa heard his other self say defiantly. _No! _He fought with a feverish rigour to break the wall, trying to get through it in time, to stop Janga from... "You're just like Scar anyway. You'll end up like him too, if you try to beat Simba—"_

_And then Janga moved, lunging for Tumaini. Kopa wanted to look away as her claws pierced his friend's throat, but couldn't tear his eyes away. He watched as the blood spurted, splattering against the transparent wall before his face. He watched as Tumaini crumpled without a sound._

_"No!" Kopa shouted. _I've failed. I've failed again. _He sank to the floor as his voice echoed around him endlessly, and he covered his ears with his paws to try and shut it out_. How do I stop her? What do I have to do to save him?

"_You can't," said the other Kopa, now standing on the other side of the wall, his crimson eyes dull and sightless. "It's done. You can never save him now."_

"_No..." he murmured, digging his claws into the stone floor. "No, I could've done it...I know I could've done it..."_

"_You can keep trying," replied the taunting voice. How he hated his own voice like he never did before. "But it won't do you any good. Why don't you wake up and accept it? He's gone."_

"_Shut up!" Kopa roared, leaping up. "This is all your fault! I wish it had been you instead! He didn't deserve this!"_

_His other self smirked, with a cruel expression he didn't particularly care to see on his own face. "Fine."_

_The ground vanished from beneath Kopa's paws, and he felt himself falling. He heard Tumaini's voice echoing around him. "What were you thinking? You should have escaped..."_

"_It's too late now..."_

※※※

Kiara blearily opened her eyes to see that the sun was breaking over the horizon, its rays casting over her face and waking her up. She got up with a yawn, blinking the sleepiness away.

Kovu was lying beside her, still fast asleep. He looked like he had a long night, so she was careful not to wake him as she padded off, heading for the pool of water that formed from the water channels flowing out of Mount Tempest.

It was still early in the morning, so she was surprised to see that Kopa was already sitting next to the water hole, his back turned to her and his gaze turned downward. She was about to call out a greeting when she heard a quiet shivering from him. Then she noticed that he was shaking, and realized he was crying.

"Kopa?" Kiara said tentatively, her voice gentle as she approached her brother. He turned around, wiping a stream of tears from his eyes with one paw.

"H-hey, Kiara..." he murmured, sniffing.

She huddled close to him, nudging her face against his. "You don't look like you got much sleep. What's wrong?"

"I can't s-sleep," he said miserably, blinking a few more teardrops away. "I just c-can't..."

Kiara guessed what was upsetting him, and felt a pang of sympathy for him. "I'm really sorry about your friend. He sounded like a great person. You know we're all here for you, right?"

Kopa nodded, looking away. She wished there was more she could do for him, even if she knew there wasn't. And as much as she didn't want to admit it, her own brother felt like a total stranger to her. _I've wanted to find him so badly, and now that we're reunited, I don't even know what to do_. What had she been expecting? That everything would just somehow be better once he returned to them?

Although the pain of losing her cub was still fresh in her mind, Kiara found herself feeling more upset about her brother's anguish. Whatever she had been hoping for when she first set out to find him, she hadn't wanted their reunion to be so bittersweet. It was almost a mockery, the possibilities of what could have been that plagued her mind in the form of Sarabi's face. But she kept all this to herself; Kopa didn't need to be reminded of any more loss than he had already experienced.

He sniffed again and smiled slightly, looking a bit happier to see her. "I've really missed all of you, you know. I...couldn't remember anything about myself for the longest time, but...it's starting to come back to me now."

Kiara could tell that Kopa was trying not to let her see him in such a distressed state, but as much as she wanted to try and figure out how to help him, she decided it would be better to talk about something else. "So what do you remember?"

"Not much," he admitted. "A lot of it is still really hazy. I would sometimes get these dreams, but I never could understand what they meant."

_Dreams?_ Kiara recalled how Simba once told her that dreams were a sign that the beings of the afterlife were reaching out to you. She wondered if it was her grandfather, Mufasa, who was reminding Kopa of who he once was. "Who was in these dreams?"

"I couldn't figure it out at the time, but..." For some reason, Kopa looked a little embarrassed. "...well, it was Vitani."

His sister smiled understandingly. "She was your best friend, right?"

"Yeah, but...why didn't I see anyone else? Mom, dad, you...I definitely remember everything about you now, Kiara. Even from the day you were born." Kopa looked down, staring at his own reflection in the water. "But I never saw any of you in my dreams. Why?"

"Kopa, it's okay," Kiara said reassuringly. "You can't control what you dream about. Or what you remember, either. What matters is that we have you back." She rubbed her face against his again, and this time he returned the gesture. It was such a familiar feeling that for a moment, she felt as if they had never lost him, that they had grown up together like they were supposed to. _It's alright now. We won't lose you again._

The two siblings straightened at the sound of someone approaching. It was Kovu, walking towards them from a small group of lions and lionesses gathered not far off. He was fully awake and his expression was resolute.

Kiara smiled at her mate. "Good morning, Kovu. Why are you up so early?"

"We're about to start our first advance into Mount Tempest," the dark-furred male replied. "Afua is going to open one of the entrances and I'm leading a team inside. Kopa, do you want to join us?"

"Kopa hasn't gotten much sleep. I think it's better if he rests—" she began.

"I'm in," said Kopa immediately. His relaxed posture was replaced by a sharp attentiveness, and there was a keen look in his eyes that Kiara thought made him look like a different person.

"Come on then," said Kovu, giving Kiara a quick nuzzle before turning around and walking back to the attack team. Kopa immediately followed.

"Good luck," Kiara murmured quietly, watching as the team disappeared around the mountain bend. Suddenly her brother was a stranger to her again.

* * *

**[Author's Note]**  
By the way, I got a tablet a few weeks ago and I've started practising digital art. At the moment, when I have time that's not spent writing, I plan on doing as much art for my _Kopa's Legacy _series as I can, since I want to become good enough to draw my own story posters for the series. And if time allows and I really get the widespread exposure I'm aiming for, I'll try to recreate all five stories into graphic novels. That's not going to be for a while though, but see my userpage for links to my deviantArt profile and stay tuned!

* * *

**[Original Character Names]  
Siri:** Secret  
**Hamu:** Eager  
**Kafiri:** Infidel

**[Canon Character Names]  
Vitani:** Demon of war/Ducks(? Still not sure...)  
**Simba:** Lion  
**Afua:** Forgiveness  
**Kovu:** Scar  
**Nala:** Prosperity  
**Ni:** I am  
**Chumvi:** Salt  
**Sabini:** Fifty  
**Kiara:** Clarity (Latin)  
**Sarabi:** Mirage


	3. First Strike

It was even colder and damper inside Mount Tempest than the last time Kopa had been inside, which hadn't been all that long ago. The fires that would usually light up the corridors were all extinguished, the shrivelled-up remains of the wood filling the fire pits having long burned out without a single wisp of smoke emitting from them. The darkness felt as substantial as the chill hanging in the air; the silence was so stifling that the only sound that could be heard was the muffled rushing of water through one of the distant channels elsewhere in the mountain.

The team moved through the passageways swiftly but quietly, without a single word exchanged or any type of hesitation as they passed through intersection after intersection. Afua was leading the way with an unwavering confidence, as if he already knew where they would find the enemy lions they were looking for.

Malka had asked them to make the first attack a small one, to prevent the majority of Janga's lions from catching wind of their plan. Kovu had picked Kopa and four others, and they were each assigned a partner to fight alongside once the fighting started. Kopa was with Siri, Kovu with Afua, and the twins Babu and Boga were assigned together.

"They'll be sticking close to the water passages," Kovu had told them before they entered Mount Tempest. "Water is always the most important key to survival when you're confined and are at a disadvantage in a standoff."

"I can find them," Afua declared. "I know which ones they're most likely to stay at."

Siri had been surprised to hear this. "You haven't been at Mount Tempest in years, Afua. Even I haven't gotten all the water passages memorized."

"I ran around the mountain a lot when I was a cub," he told her. "Everyone said I had the best sense of direction in the pride."

"There are at least thirty of Janga's lions in there," Kovu said. "We don't know whether they're regrouped or are still disorganized. If we spot more of them than we can take, we'll have to pull out and come back with reinforcements."

"Don't worry about that, Kovu," said Afua confidently. "They can search for weeks and still never find each other. And they'll think twice about running around once they stumble into one of my father's traps."

_These traps better not kill too many of them_, Kopa thought as he continued to follow Afua deeper into Mount Tempest. It would be too easy of an end for them. They had a lot to answer for, and he wanted to make sure they would know it.

Malka had briefed Kovu on what the traps consisted of and where they were located; Kopa admired how elaborate the designs sounded and wondered how many generations it took for the Tempest pride to perfect them. _I've never even heard of these kinds of things before. Janga really didn't know what she was getting into when she attacked this pride._

He gave a start when he noticed where they were. Siri caught the gesture and glanced at him, and he knew that they were both thinking the same thing.

_This is where he died. This is where Janga killed him._

Although the room that Janga had used as a prison chamber was now abandoned, Kopa could still remember seeing the lions surrounding them, watching as she murdered his best friend before his eyes. The way he dropped without a sound. The horrifying scent of Tumaini's blood that still lingered in his nostrils...

Kovu held up a paw and the team halted. "We're close. One of them is injured, can you smell it?"

Afua nodded. "There's a water passage not far off leading to the main chasm. How many do you think there are?"

"Six," said Babu, sniffing the air carefully.

"Seven," Boga corrected. "No, wait...it's hard to tell with the injured one's scent overpowering the others...I think there are...nine."

Kovu thought about this and nodded, looking over the team. "Think we can take all of them?"

"Yes," said Kopa, before anyone else spoke. Afua's eyes shifted to him but he said nothing.

"There might not be that many," Boga admitted. "Babu's right, there could be as little as six."

"We'll take our chances then," said Kovu. "If we can put ourselves between them and this chasm, it shouldn't be difficult to deal with them. Okay, everyone, remember to watch your partner's back."

Kopa felt a surge of anticipation building inside him. Ever since he had escaped Janga in here, he had been on the defensive, trying to do nothing but survive. Now, backed by five strong-bodied lions, he was ready to strike back. How fitting it was that Janga's lions were trapped in the same mountain he himself had been prisoner, where he had watched Tumaini die.

The team crept through the passageway almost noiselessly, what little sound they did make covered by the steadily growing sound of rushing water. Kopa could smell Janga's lions now too, although he couldn't discern either how many of them there were over the scent of drying blood. The air was still as cold as ever but becoming moist; the rocky floor was now damper than before.

No one spoke a word now. Any noise they made at this point would likely be heard, and everyone was already clear on the plan. All there was to the next step was to eliminate the enemy lions, plain and simple.

The team turned the bend in the passageway, stepping into a large cavern with an abyss at the other end. A deep, almost constant roaring filled the cave where three rapid, frothing streams of water plunged from their channels into the darkness. There were nine lions inside, and as Afua had predicted, they were standing by the water channels. They were already on their paws and were facing the passageway. They looked alert and Kopa guessed that they had picked up the approaching team's scent.

There was no time to think. He was the first to snap into action, bounding past Kovu and at the nearest lion. His opponent moved with a sluggishness that suggested he hadn't had food in several days. Kopa easily stunned him with a hard swipe across the face, which was enough to knock him down. A second lion came at him but Siri was close behind and she slammed the enemy lion into the ground without much effort.

Kovu and Afua were moving to flank the lions, while Babu and Boga remained by the exit, blocking anyone from escaping. They fended off the enemies that tried to get past them, although the twins moved much more cohesively and were able to hold them back with sharp, precise movements.

Kopa killed the lion at his paws without hesitation, and as he moved to help Siri, he noticed that the enemies seemed to be fighting with a feverish desperation. The short amount of time they had spent in Mount Tempest must have been driving them mad, and they seemed more afraid to die trapped here than anything else. He decided to use their irrational edge against them.

Kovu and Afua were moving swiftly through the group of enemy lions, striking hard and giving no time for retaliation. Although their team had been slightly outnumbered in the beginning, they were now winning the fight.

Siri was fighting off a lion and a lioness, and Kopa leaped at them, knocking one of them away and pinning down the other one. She lowered her head and snapped the enemy's neck with her jaws.

Afua was fighting the lioness that Kopa had just pushed away. There were several dried gashes in her flank, and she was clearly the injured one Kovu had scented earlier. Afua kicked her hard in the foreleg, and she staggered but remained upright, looking him up and down for a way to strike back. And then her eyes widened.

"You were that prisoner," she said in disbelief. "The one that Janga killed. That's impossible..."

Kopa grabbed the lioness by the shoulders and hurled her hard into the wall. He stared down his opponent, who was staring up at him in a daze. "So you remember him...now it's time to answer for it..."

"No," she gasped, her eyes drawn with fear. It was clear that she knew who he was. "We didn't know Janga was going to do it."

There was no sympathy in the young lion's eyes as he closed in on her. _If Janga thinks she can kill my friends to hurt me, then I'm going to show her exactly how that feels_. He lunged at the lioness, realizing the irony and wishing Janga could know somehow what he was doing. The lioness raised one paw to try and fend him off but he knocked her off-balance and stabbed his claws deep into the back of her head until they reached the brain. Her expression contorted into one of pain before she went limp and crumpled.

Kopa drew his claws out, smearing blood and brain matter on the stony floor as he turned away from the dead lioness. He noticed that Afua was no longer behind him and quickly realized why.

Siri was being forced back towards the chasm by three lions. Afua was trying to get to her, but one of them was keeping him at bay. His movements were becoming frustrated, while Siri was doing her best to hold her ground but had to keep backing up, edging closer and closer to the steep drop behind her.

Kopa moved to help out, when he saw one of the lions lying at Babu and Boga's paws leap up and run past them, out of the cavern. Kovu, who was attacking one of the last four enemy lions standing, struck down his opponent with a complex chain attack with his claws and immediately tore off after the escaped lion, disappearing into the tunnel with the twins.

Siri snapped at the lions, assuming an offensive stance and managing to back them off a step. But one of them leaped forward again, and before she could react, tackled her in the side. Her paws skidded and she slipped off the edge. Her front claws flashed out, digging as hard into the saturated rock as she could.

"Siri!" Afua yelled, fighting even harder to get to her. But now all three lions were facing him, keeping him out of reach of Siri, who was now in great peril. His frustration built and he looked as if he was going to lose control of himself. "Get out of the way! _Get out of the way!_"

Kopa sped towards them, the madness and panic of Afua's voice ringing in his ears. _No, this isn't going to happen! I'm not going to lose her too!_ He let loose an enraged roar, leaping at the enemy lions with no regard to his own safety. "_Stop it!_" The trio turned, startled.

He slammed into one of them hard, tumbling to the ground from the sheer force of the impact. The enemy lion was thrown into the other two, and gave a horrified scream as he found himself on empty air, falling straight into the chasm as his scream echoed away. The other two fell into one of the water channels with a simultaneous splash, and they sputtered and desperately grabbed at the rock before the force of the current carried them towards the giant chasm to share their friend's fate.

Afua made for Siri the moment Kopa had attacked the enemy lions. He grabbed onto her paws, but had nothing to plant his own back paws on and couldn't risk trying to pull her up without falling off with her. All he could do was hold onto her precariously, but he couldn't do that for long.

Kopa got up, shaking his head to recover from his reckless assault. He moved to help Afua when he saw that the two enemy lions were still clinging onto the edge of the cliff face where the rock curved into the water channel. The water wasn't so shallow here, but the lions had managed to pull themselves off to the side and were trying to hoist themselves up.

"Kopa, what are you doing?" Afua cried, straining to maintain his grip on Siri's paws. "Come here and help me!"

Kopa wordlessly walked over to Janga's lions, and both of them stared up at him. There it was, that same look of fear the other lioness had before he had killed her. And still he felt no sense of mercy towards them. _You have the nerve to be afraid? This is how you tried to kill her. You deserve this._ He dug one paw under one of the lions', his other paw under the second's. They both roared in pain as his claws unsheathed, stabbing into their paw pads. Instinctively, they let go, their grip on their remaining paws causing them to swing to the side—straight into the waterfall's current. Their screams were stifled as the torrents engulfed them and propelled them into the darkness.

Kopa didn't pause to watch them fall to their deaths. He turned away and leaped over the water channel, hurrying over to Siri and adding his paws to Afua's. The two young males pulled hard, as she scrabbled at the cliff face with her back paws and tried to keep as much of her weight off them as she could. They managed to pull her forelegs up over the cliff edge, and she planted her weight onto the solid rock, grunting as she found purchase and hauled herself onto the relative safety of the cavern floor. Kopa and Afua let go of her, breathing heavily.

"Thanks, guys," she gasped, panting.

"Sorry about that," Kopa murmured. "They were trying to climb back out...if they did while we were trying to pull you up..."

"Kopa, you saved me twice just now," she said. "It's okay."

Kopa could see Afua's eyes on him out of the corner of his vision, and he wondered what he was thinking. But his attention was brought to the sound of approaching paws, and he turned to face the tunnel. Was it more of Janga's lions? Were they close by and heard the commotion?

A pair of dark green eyes appeared in the darkness, and Kovu stepped into the cavern with Babu and Boga close behind. There was blood spattered on the dark-furred male's maw, although it was clearly not his own. Kopa guessed that he had dealt with the lion that had tried to escape. "Where are the other three?"

"Went over the edge," said Afua, his gaze lingering on Kopa for a moment before shifting away.

Kovu was checking over the other carcasses to make sure they really were dead. "You three okay?"

Afua's eyes flicked to Kopa again, momentarily. "We had a bit of a close call, but we're fine."

"Then we should leave," said Kovu. "We'll check a few of the nearby passages on the way out, see if we can pick up on other locations Janga's lions are likely to be."

Kopa silently followed the others out of the cavern, thinking about what had just happened. Most of the others didn't seem to notice anything out of the ordinary, but Afua clearly could tell that something wasn't right. There was something accusatory in the look Kopa was getting; he wondered what his cubhood friend was thinking, and how much he had guessed.

_I killed them because it was necessary. I would have helped Siri right away if I didn't think they were a threat. Really_.

Would he have? And why was it that he couldn't stop seeing the terrified way Janga's lions looked at him before he killed them?

※※※

After a few minutes of fidgeting and adjusting the configuration in the rock wall where a massive boulder was sitting in front of the passageway, Afua stepped back and pushed the giant stone outward, with much less effort than it first appeared would be required. Kopa winced as sunlight broke through the dark tunnel, stepping out into the warmth of the morning sun with the others. Afua nodded to the lions standing guard next to the exit as they rolled the boulder back into place and secured it.

Mateka saw them and padded over. "Hey, you're all back. Come on, we caught some gazelle this morning and we saved some for you. Any injuries?"

"Nothing serious," said Kovu, waiting until Afua was done locking the boulder in place. They followed her to a group of lionesses sitting where the rocky plateau met the grasslands. There were two and a half antelope lying between them.

Vitani noticed as they approached. She shifted aside so that the team could reach the hunt and gave Kovu her characteristic tomboy grin. "So, someone tells me you've been making fun of their hunting skills."

He raised an eyebrow at Kiara, who smiled at him cheekily. "Running off to my big sister, huh? Don't tell me you actually caught one of these."

She giggled. "Well, I had a lot of help from Vitani, but I did bring down one of the gazelles."

"It was going to get away from me," said Vitani. "But Kiara moves pretty fast, so we got the biggest one in the herd thanks to her."

"Hey, well done," said Kovu, giving his mate a wide grin. "Maybe next time you can show me. I want to see how Vitani got you to do what I couldn't. And Mohatu knows I've tried."

"It does help when you pay a compliment now and then," Vitani pointed out. "Try being encouraging, instead of laughing at her mistakes so much."

"You got Vitani to pay someone a compliment?" he said to Kiara, feigning surprise. "Never mind, I want to know how _you_ taught my sister manners."

The others laughed as Vitani shoved Kovu at one of the gazelles. "Start using your mouth for eating instead of talking, why don't you!"

Kopa watched this interaction, smiling in spite of himself. He had heard a lot about the type of rough cubhood Kovu and Vitani had after everyone had thought Zira killed him, and had it not been for Simba's decision to bring the Outlanders into the pride, they would have had nothing left but each other. He could tell that even in the hardest time of their lives, they stayed close and did their best to take care of each other.

_Vitani hasn't changed one bit_, he thought, sinking his teeth into the gazelle's haunch. _Well, that's not true, really.._. Her personality was still exactly as he remembered, but physically she had grown into a fine young lioness. Her feisty nature made her fun to be around, and to Kopa she always stood out among a group of lionesses.

His thoughts were interrupted by a slight nudge in the ribs. He turned to see that Kiara was looking at him. "Huh?"

"I said, mom's leaving with Ni and a few others soon," she said. "Are you coming to see them off?"

"Oh, yeah, of course," he said, recalling Ni's plan to find his pride. "Well, I'm full. Let's go."

Kiara laughed. "They're not going until this afternoon, silly. What's got your head up in the clouds?"

Kopa looked away, thankful that she couldn't read minds. He remembered their conversation before he had left with Kovu on their first attack, and wondered what she thought about what he had told her. _I don't even know what it means myself. Now that I think about it, how is it that I've had so many dreams about Vitani? Sure, I was with her a lot when we were cubs, but there was all that other stuff too that's starting to come back to me.._. In the last few days, he had recalled several very vivid memories, from the time he had been kidnapped by a trio of vultures to the time he had met and befriended a hyena named Asante. But he hadn't even a single image of those recollections until after being reunited with his pride. The only exception to that had been his flashbacks of Vitani, even if he couldn't figure out who she was for the longest time.

Vitani turned her head to look at him, and he realized that he had been staring at her the whole time. He quickly looked the other way, and walked off before Kiara could inadvertently draw any more attention to him. He saw Siri and Afua walking along the perimeter of the plateau not far off, both of them looking relaxed despite their rather harrowing morning. He felt a twinge of guilt when he remembered how Afua had looked at him, and wondered if he should set the record straight and apologize. But they looked very at ease at the moment, so he decided not to be a drag and interrupt.

He turned around and walked the other way instead, and saw Mateka with her parents, Tama and Tojo. There was a half dozen sky-blue birds flying to and fro between them, and a couple of them were perched on Mateka's shoulders. She was cuddling them with her face and paws, and a third bird flew over and perched between her ears. She laughed as Tojo put on a mock serious face and pretended to try and persuade the bird to get off.

_It really is nice to be back,_ Kopa thought, deciding to go see Nala before she was to leave with the others. Over the last few days he found that he enjoyed his mother's company especially out of everyone in the pride. Sometimes they would talk about his cubhood, or she would tell him stories about Sarabi, as he had told her how they met in her final moments. Now that he was no longer a castaway, he had realized that family really was everything.

※※※

It was quite a large group that prepared to head out into the plains, and Kopa felt reassured that Nala would be in good company. They were accompanied by not only Ni, but also Sabini, Leo, Tama, Tojo, and numerous others from both prides, totalling sixteen lions in total. And with any luck, their group would only grow in number as they located more of Ni's pride.

They were preparing to head out at the grassy patch where Simba and Malka were recovering. Both pride kings now had a routine to walk short distances around Mount Tempest for a while every day to keep in shape, and at the moment both of them were standing to see off Ni's group, albeit with some difficulty.

"Are you going to be alright?" Nala was saying to Simba, her voice heavy with concern.

"I'll be fine," he said reassuringly. "Bring your brother home, Nala. Focus on that, don't worry about me."

She nodded slowly. "Take care of Kopa."

"I will."

Nala nuzzled her son. "Stay safe, Kopa. I'll be back soon."

"Be careful, mom," he said. She smiled and moved to give Kiara a nuzzle as well, and then Simba.

Mateka was saying goodbye to her parents, and Tojo's birds were all staring at her as if trying to memorize her features. "I'll send one of my birds ahead once we're on our way back," he said.

Malka nodded. "Keep an eye in the sky at night. If we need you back quickly I'll send you the signal."

Once all the farewells were made, Ni led the group off the plateau sloping gently away from Mount Tempest. Kopa watched as they disappeared into the plains. "Uncle Mheetu, huh? I wonder how he got to know Janga."

"I'm sure he can tell us when he comes back with mom," Kiara said quietly, also staring after the lions.

He glanced at her, noting the worry in her voice. "You okay?"

"I...it's just...I hope they'll be alright. I don't think I can stand losing anyone else."

He thought of Sarabi. "Yeah. I know." He wanted to say something to reassure his sister, but he knew that words would be meaningless. _I hope so too._

He returned his gaze to the plains, watching as the group faded into specks in the distance. He felt a spike of alarm as he remembered that they were headed almost directly in the direction of Janga's camp. _But no one knows that except me..._ If Jeraha or Kivuli picked up their trail, there could be trouble.

Kopa turned around and dashed back up the plateau with all haste. Ni's group was running so quickly that he wouldn't be able to catch up to them in time. But he couldn't just sit here and hope for the best either. Time to take the matter into his own paws.

* * *

**[Author's Note]**  
So in this chapter Kopa acts a little peculiar. Don't worry, he's not going insane, nor is he bipolar. I decided to give him an opportunity to enjoy some light-hearted humour, and indulge him in his darker side as much as necessary. I'm also going to leave Ni, Nala, and everyone who left with them out of the story until book 5, since I'll be focusing mainly on Kopa's perspective in this one. Everyone okay with that? Okay, great :)

By the way, the mention of the hyena Asante in Kopa's memory is the character that appears in the book _Friends For Life_. She is not to be confused with the fanfiction writer, or his fursona of the same name who is the third child of Simba and Nala in his stories.

* * *

**[Canon Character Names]  
Asante:** Thank you  
**Leo:** Today


	4. Kopa's Inferno

**[Author's Note]**  
Sorry if I posted this a few hours late. I've been visiting home this past week and just got back on a 5-hour bus ride. Don't worry, I never forget my posting dates.

Well, things are coming along nicely here. I notice a few of you had some very interesting commentary in your reviews, most notably on Kopa's dark side. If he scared you before, just wait until you read this chapter. And I think I should do one of those "reply to reviews here" things I've seen a few other authors do.

Haradion, ZeroUnitRGB: Sorry, still not telling who the Keepers are :P

Actene, 22teamplayer: Very insightful, and I hope you don't mind Kopa's gradual shift into his darker side. Or at least you find it fascinating and not boring.

fanficaddict03, lionDreamerAKAfan: Don't take it personally, but please don't post reviews like that in the future. I ask for reviews so you can be constructive in your criticism, or if you don't have any, share you thoughts with me at the very least. It doesn't help when your review tells me nothing except that you want to boost the review count so I post chapters faster. Remember, I ask for reviews for the sake of feedback, and the checkpoints I set are an incentive for that. The number of reviews I get really means nothing to me otherwise.

* * *

Siri stared absently at the rock face as she walked along the side of Mount Tempest. It had seemed like a lifetime ago when she had actually returned here to find that this place was her home. It certainly was odd, living here but being forced to remain outside the mountain and in such close proximity to an enemy pride lurking inside.

_For now. But this siege isn't going to last forever_. She wondered exactly how it would end, whether they could find a way to clear Mount Tempest of Janga's lions through sheer force or whether they would really have to destroy the stronghold to end it all. She hoped it would be the former. As much as she liked spending time at Shira Hollow, it just didn't feel like home the way Mount Tempest did. _Funny, I never got to know what it would be like to share this home with Tumaini..._

Siri felt her heart skip a beat as she noticed Afua standing by the water hole. She could never get used to seeing him like this; every time she looked at him, she could see his older brother in every part of him; the way he walked, the way he laughed, the way he smiled at her. And it didn't take long for her to see that Afua had his older brother's heart, which was the hardest for her not to think about.

_He never talks about Tumaini. Is that his way of coping with it, or is he still hurt about what happened between them all those years ago?_ Siri felt her paws steering her towards Afua, even though she was hardly aware that she was heading his way. _Is this wrong? Am I just using Afua because he's so much like Tumaini? Do I...see him as a replacement?_

Afua turned his head, noticing her approach. He smiled when he saw who it was—that smile would always set her mind out of its usual place. "Oh, hey, Siri..."

She struggled for a moment before finding her voice. "Hey. What are you doing here by yourself?"

The smile quickly faded. "I think there's contamination in the water," he said seriously. "I'm not completely sure, but if I can find some trace of it I have to tell my father."

Siri looked down at the water, trying to see something out of place about the crystal-clear water. "What makes you think there's contamination?"

He bit his lip. "You remember when Kopa pushed those lions into the waterfall?"

"You think the waterfall leads to this water hole?"

"I ran the network of the water channels over in my head, and I'm pretty certain this is one of the places it reaches," he said, frowning. "This is the only water hole we have too. Most of the other channels lead out along the sides of the mountain and flow down into streams."

"We'll figure something out, Afua. You're a sharp thinker."

"Thanks." He nodded, but continued to look troubled. After a moment of silence, he said slowly, "Siri, I'm worried about Kopa."

_So that's what was on his mind all day_. "There wasn't time to think," she pointed out. "We were more concerned about making it out alive than the contamination—"

He shook his head. "It's not the contamination I'm talking about. You saw the way he killed those lions. It wasn't like him."

"He..." Even though Siri had been focusing on staying alive in the cavern, she had seen everything. She had put it out of her mind too, tried to justify that he had to do it. But something about it nagged at the corner of her mind, no matter how much she tried to ignore it. She tried to think of some way to defend Kopa, but she knew that even though he had done it for a good reason, she had to agree with Afua. "...you're right. And...I know why."

"I know why, too," he said quietly. "But I don't know what to—" He broke off at the sight of a lion carcass floating face-down out of Mount Tempest's water tunnel towards them.

It wasn't a pretty sight. The body was covered in painful-looking cuts that no claw or tooth had the power to inflict; it looked as if the lion had been dashed against the rocks multiple times before it had died. "That's definitely one of them," said Siri. "He was the one that tried to push me off."

"Let's get it out of the water," said Afua, leaning over the water and grabbing it by one paw. Siri stretched and reached the lion's jaw, and they hauled its bloody and dripping corpse onto the plateau.

He looked back at the tunnel, where water continued to flow out into the pond. "The other two could be anywhere. I should go tell my father and warn everyone not to drink from the water hole. At least not until we're absolutely sure it's clean."

A flustered voice was calling from behind. "Hey, have either of you seen Kopa anywhere?" They both turned to see Vitani running up, looking up and down the water hole.

"No," said Siri. "What is it?"

"I can't find him, or the twins. None of the others know where he is either. Simba's got half the pride searching for him."

Afua gritted his teeth. "Great. Let's go help out then."

_Kopa, what are you doing?_ Siri thought as she and Afua set down the lion carcass and sprinted off with Vitani. There was something definitely not right about him, she was sure of it now.

※※※

"It's very faint, but the scent is still there," Jeraha insisted.

"I don't notice these scents," said Kivuli disdainfully. "Or any of these other signs you've pointed out to me so far."

"That's because you're not trying," he snapped. "You don't believe me, do you?"

"That a score and a half of lions passed by this way from Mount Tempest?" she scoffed. "No, I don't believe you. Because I know that next you're going to suggest making an attack on the two prides because they're, what, a fraction smaller in size now?"

"This isn't a game, Kivuli," he said, irritated. "What if these lions know Janga's left on her own and they're trying to find her? I should send a team after her."

"Then you're going to compromise her. In case you haven't already figured it out, Janga can take care of herself better than our entire pride put together. And like her, the less conspicuous we make ourselves, the better."

Jeraha grunted but didn't argue this. Instead, he cast his gaze towards Mount Tempest, which was easily visible in the cloudless afternoon sky. "They still haven't collapsed the mountain. The rest of our pride is still in there."

Kivuli sighed exasperatedly. "I knew it. That's what you're after."

"I don't see how you can be so indifferent," he hissed. "That's our own _pride_ in there, alive, and you're going to let them die."

"There's nothing we can do for them," she said flatly. "I don't like it any more than you do, but we have to be rational. It's easier to let it go if you realize that they're already dead." Without another word, she turned and strode back towards the camp, leaving Jeraha to stare off at the distant mountain stronghold. He felt as if its majestic figure was mocking him, taunting him that he couldn't get to their brothers and sisters and daring him to challenge its impermeable might.

_Be rational. They're already dead_. It was ironic that Kivuli was unaware of how much he had done with that mindset. He was the one who had acted against Janga's will and plotted the murder of her mother Sarabi because he knew he had to do it. Because she had refused to accept that it had to be done. He should have known that she would find out somehow, and even though he had managed to convince her that he hadn't been involved, he was now the only one who knew the truth of what had happened.

_And still I feel undeserving of the trust Janga gave back to me. She shouldn't trust me_. Jeraha was hardly remorseful about Sarabi's death, but the knowledge of having betrayed Janga's trust had been slowly eating away at him day by day. _I'll never forgive myself for that, but it's a price I'm willing to pay for her sake_. But he knew he had to do something or eventually he wouldn't be able to look her in the face ever again.

_I'll save the others, somehow. I know I can do it. I just need a plan_. Kivuli wouldn't be pleased, but she would keep her mouth shut once Janga returned to find her pride restored. He started to think of ways to somehow get into Mount Tempest, regroup the survivors of the pride that were trapped inside, and escape without a major confrontation. _There has to be a way..._

Jeraha gave a start when he heard the sound of roars in the hills where they were camped. He broke into a run as the scent of fresh blood reached his nostrils. He knew immediately that they were under attack. Was it those lions he had scented just now? But how did a group as large as theirs get to the camp without being spotted?

He reached the top of a hill to see the others running around the trenches below him. They were in a frenzy, and as he caught the scent of the first wisps of smoke, he realized why.

A fire was spreading rapidly through the hills. It was very small and looked like it had just been lit. But already the smoke started to thicken, making it difficult to see everything that was going on below. The flames branched out rapidly and unpredictably, sometimes cutting off lions from their escape and forcing them to turn around and brave the conflagration to try and find another way out.

Kivuli leaped through a column of fire, shouting orders and trying to rally the pride. To Jeraha's surprise, her words caught the others' attention without too much trouble and carried easily above the pandemonium. There was no hint of fear in her demeanour, and she guided one group of lions after another out of the blaze, sometimes at great personal risk.

Jeraha gathered the ones that had managed to make it out and started arranging them into teams to run back and forth between the hills and the nearby stream. It was unlikely that they would be able to put out the fire, but they could still contain it before it spread through the entire grasslands. Though even once the fire would extinguish itself, it would be better to move camp, away from the smoke.

After arranging another team to treat the wounded, he checked that the others were carrying out their tasks without need for supervision before running back up the hills, which were now almost completely engulfed in flames. He scanned the fiery masses for a sign of Kivuli, and whoever else hadn't managed to make it out yet.

A silver-grey blur launched out from behind a hill, landing safely on the other side of a growing wall of flame. Kivuli's coat was covered in soot and was slightly singed, although it was hard to tell because the colour was so similar to her fur. She glanced at Jeraha as four others leaped out with her. One of the lions' back had caught fire, and he rolled on the ground, roaring in pain and trying to put it out. She stooped down and started to help, shouting at the others. "Get out of here! Go!"

The other three lions hesitated for a moment, but as the fire around them climbed, they broke and ran down the trench, where there was a clear escape for them. Jeraha was about to run off and bring back a team to keep the exit clear for Kivuli...when he saw it.

Three sets of claws reached out from the flames and grabbed the trio of lions right before they reached the exit, pulling them back into the inferno. Jeraha watched, confounded, as three shadowy figures leaped onto where they had disappeared, followed by roars of pain. He couldn't make out who their assailants were, but they were definitely lions. It didn't take long for their victims' screams to die out, and then the figures reappeared on the other side of the fire.

The first two immediately dashed out through where the trench ended, but the third paused when he spotted Jeraha. He turned and looked him right in the face, and then he realized who it was.

Kopa.

Jeraha didn't know if it was the flames reflected in his eyes that made the young lion look so vengeful. Kopa gave him a venomous, defiant smile before turning and running off with the others. For a moment, Jeraha was tempted to give chase, but instead he leaped down the hill to where Kivuli was hauling out the burned lion, who had slipped into unconsciousness. He slid himself under the injured lion, carrying him much more easily than Kivuli did. Without wasting another moment, the two of them ran out of the burning hills together and into the clean air.

※※※

"I don't like it," Malka said quietly, his eyes on the massive clouds of smoke rising up in the distance.

"Neither do I," said Simba, scanning the sky for signs of Zazu. "Can the fire reach all the way here?"

"It's a possibility. But I'm more worried about the others that left earlier. If they didn't get far enough..."

The pride kings watched the horizon anxiously, both wishing they could do more than just sit around and wait for news. Simba's mind was racing. _What could have started a fire? Are Nala and the others alright?_ If they really were caught in the worst of it, Zazu would never be able to find them amidst all the smoke. _Should I send teams to check it out? No, it's not safe...but what should I do?_

"Father?" Simba turned to see Kiara hurrying towards them breathlessly. "We found Kopa."

"Where was he?" he asked, his voice tight-knit with worry.

"He was with Babu and Boga. It turns out they were just taking a bath in the stream on the other side of the mountain..."

"Oh." Simba felt himself relax. He didn't think it was likely, but when he saw the fire he had a horrible feeling that it had something to do with Kopa's disappearance. "Okay then."

Just then, Zazu swooped in and landed on his shoulder. "Sire, there is no cause for alarm. The others had spotted the fire but they were already a long way from it."

Simba exhaled. Everything was fine. He had worried for nothing. "That's good to hear. Did you see what caused the fire?"

The hornbill shook his head. "It was already quite overwhelming when I reached it, and there were lions running all over the place. I think they're Janga's."

Malka stiffened. "So that's where they were camped."

"They looked like they were moving elsewhere after they contained the fire. There's only about a score of them left. And...I'm quite sure that Janga herself is absent."

"So she's dead?" Simba asked, exchanging glances with Malka.

"I can't say for certain, sire."

He nodded. "Good work, Zazu. I'll need you to keep on their trail if you're not too tired."

"Not at all, Simba. I'll return as soon as I confirm the location of their camp." Zazu lifted off again, flying away into the plains.

Kiara looked like she suddenly remembered something. "Afua and Siri said they found a body floating in the water hole," she told Malka. "They're telling everyone that the water there is contaminated and wanted me to let you know."

He thought about this for a moment. "Thank you, Kiara. Tell Afua to bring the body to me."

※※※

Kopa walked around to the front side of Mount Tempest with Babu and Boga, all three of them still slightly damp. When Vitani and Kiara had found them, he had played it cool and hadn't said a word to them about where he had been. In fact, he had casually offered for them to join him and the twins, which they had declined. But it was enough to throw suspicion off them.

Kovu paused as they walked past him. He raised a paw in front of Kopa, stopping him. "You three smell like smoke."

Kopa raised an eyebrow. "Do we?"

"You don't have to pretend," said the other male exasperatedly. "I checked that side of the mountain when everyone first heard you were missing. And I saw the fire in the grasslands."

Kopa opened his mouth to say something, but just exhaled. "Okay, you got me. We were in the hills. That's where Janga's camp was."

"You took on Janga's pride with just the three of you, and decided to start a fire?"

"We needed a way to keep them off Ni and the others," said Kopa defensively. "We made sure they were far away enough before we lit the fire."

"And?" Kovu said. He shook his head. "Kopa, Simba put you in charge of the pride. That means you have to do two things. One, don't put your own life in danger. And two, be responsible about what you do. That fire could have very easily spread beyond your control."

Kopa held his gaze, thinking these words over. He considered saying more but realized how it must look for Kovu to see them like this. He sighed. "I guess it was a bit overkill, huh?"

"It was _way_ overkill. And if Simba finds out—"

"You're not going to tell him, are you?"

Kovu returned his stare for a moment, thinking of what Simba might say if he knew. "No," he said. "Because I know if he finds out, he'll never let you out of his sight again. But you have to promise not to do something like that again."

"Okay, I promise," Kopa said, sounding almost impartial. The dark-furred male kept his eyes locked on him, trying to see if he was being sincere. Whether or not he figured it out, he turned and walked away, his expression unreadable.

* * *

**Next chapter: To be posted Sunday, April 7, 2013 (UTC)**


	5. Conflicted Desires

"I heard about the contamination," said Kopa, sitting in the grass and watching as Afua and a few others studied the water hole intently. "I wish I thought about that before I killed those lions. Now I've caused everyone an inconvenience."

"It wasn't your fault," said Mateka. "There was no time to think about that when you were trying to save your friends."

He felt the same guilty twinge he always did when he remembered how he had turned away from Siri's predicament to send those lions falling to their deaths. _I did it to protect her though. That was the important thing._ "I feel like I should be helping them," he said, watching as Kovu dipped a paw into the water and smeared it on the rock. Vitani and Afua leaned in, checking the moisture closely. "I could be doing _something_."

"We don't know anything about this kind of stuff though," Mateka pointed out. "Kovu and Tani would be the best at figuring out if the water is clean, since they had to do it all the time in the Outlands. Leave it to them, we'll just be in the way if we try to help."

Kopa sighed. "I guess you're right."

She looked away from the others and her eyes met his. "Hey, what are you thinking of doing when we return to Pride Rock? After this is all over, I mean."

"I don't know," he admitted. "It'll mean a lot to me if I can just live with the pride again, I guess. I've been gone for so long, that there's nothing else I really want."

She nodded sympathetically. "Must have really been hard to be away for most of your life."

"I couldn't remember most of the time. But sometimes I'd get these dreams, and then I'd want to know more about what happened to me. I wanted to know who I kept seeing in the dreams."

A look of curiosity crossed Mateka's face. "Who did you see?"

"Just one person, actually...it was Vitani."

"Oh." For some reason, she looked disappointed. "Well, I know she really missed you. I...really missed you."

"Well, I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for either of you," he said with a smile. "You took on Janga's lions by yourself to help me. And Vitani was the first to find me when Kivuli had me trapped. I owe you both for that."

"Yeah..." She smiled back, although it looked a little halfhearted. "Hey, what are friends for, right? You got me out of Mount Tempest first. You and Tumaini..."

Kopa nodded, looking down at the mention of Tumaini. "I'm glad you escaped. I don't think I could've been able to lose another friend." He stood up, walking off alone in silence. Mateka's eyes were on his back until he disappeared around Mount Tempest.

"Friends," she murmured.

※※※

After settling the survivors down in a rather unfriendly-looking swamp, Kivuli tended to everyone's injuries while Jeraha headed back to the smouldering remains of the hills to look for anyone that might have still been alive. He returned later in the evening to confirm that he found all the bodies belonging to the five lions that they had been missing.

The swamp was hardly an ideal place for the seventeen remaining lions to stay, but it kept them out of sight and would protect them from another fire. For now, that was good enough for Jeraha. As he helped Kivuli sort out the herbs and plants they had both learned to use for treating burns, he told her who had been responsible for the attack. She remained impassive as he relayed what he had seen.

"Was he after Janga?" she asked, placing a damp patch of moss onto a burned lion's flank.

"I told you, they weren't looking for her at all," he said. "They just killed whoever they came across. No one even knew Wivu and Aibu were dead until the fire had already started."

"Well, now we'll be prepared if they make another attack. If they come in small numbers again, we'll use the swamp against them."

Jeraha crushed a dark red berry and mixed the juice into a paste Kivuli had made earlier. "We need to strike back. If we allow them to kill members of our pride like this, we will soon be outnumbered."

"We're already outnumbered, Jeraha," said Kivuli, her voice thinning with impatience after the hazardous day. "There are still more than three score of them at Mount Tempest. Attacking them will just make us lose even more than we already have."

"And if I increase our numbers?" he said. "Half of our pride is inside the mountain, and if I get them out—"

"You won't get them out," she snapped.

"We just lost nearly a quarter of what's left of our pride, Kivuli!" Jeraha shouted, his temper breaking loose too. "They were killed by three lions. Three! And we didn't put a single scratch on them!"

The shrewd lioness cast her gaze on him. It was reproachful and almost condescending. "Do you think Kopa attacked us to bait us? You cannot hope to grapple with one who is set on the path of revenge. You'd be foolish to try and find a way to get even, because you never will. No matter what damage you do to him, he'll return it to you tenfold."

Jeraha added a few ground leaves to the paste he was working on before scooping it up and handing it to Kivuli. "That was a lesson you learned the hard way, wasn't it?" he asked quietly.

Her eyes narrowed as she took the concoction and applied it to a lion's bloodied paws. "Mheetu got what was coming to him. And I thought I did a proper job of finishing off Nala, not that he knows she's been alive all this time..." She shook her head. "Keep a low profile, those were Janga's orders. Believe me, if there was a plausible way for us to free the others, I'd have done it by now."

※※※

_He was almost there. He was dashing down the corridors as quickly as he could and they were completely empty. Good._

_This time, when he entered the chamber, he saw Tumaini sitting there alone. Kopa knew he should have felt relieved, but he knew that there was something not quite right about this. He slowed to a walk, approaching his friend with an unexplainable apprehension._

_Tumaini looked up, his eyes full of pleading. "Please, let me go."_

_"What?" Kopa faltered, not knowing what he was talking about. "Tumaini, it's me, Kopa. Follow me, we're getting out of here."_

_"Why do you keep me here like this?" his friend demanded. "Why won't you just let me go?"_

_"Tumaini, I'm trying to get you out! Come on, we don't have much time!"_

_Tumaini shook his head. "I can't come with you, Kopa. You should go."_

_"I can't leave without you." Kopa placed one paw around his shoulders and tried to pull him up, but couldn't move him. "Tumaini..."_

_The older lion stood up slowly, to Kopa's relief. But then he realized that Tumaini was walking away from him, towards the passageway on the opposite end of the room from where no light came out. He turned his head just before he reached it. "Don't let me die again, Kopa. Leave me to my peace."_

_Kopa's throat tightened as he watched him disappear into the passageway. "Tumaini...don't go..."_

_The voice that reached his ears from the tunnel was gentle. "You will know where to find me when the time comes. I'll wait for you. Goodbye, Kopa..."_

※※※

The next morning, Kopa was making his rounds on the far side of Mount Tempest alone, staring up through a layer of drizzling rain at the colossal mountain range that stretched from the stronghold into the misty sky. _These mountains lead to Mount Kilimanjaro, and on the other end is the Pridelands._

It had felt like so long ago when he had made the journey to the Pridelands to warn Simba about the impending threat of Janga's attack. How funny it was, that he had been about to unwittingly find the family he had been wondering about his entire life, but that it had taken this long for everything to come together like this. _What if things had happened differently?_

He felt a lurch in his heart as he remembered how all this had started. He had just started what would be a long trip across the Serengeti with Tumaini, and he had no idea what he would find beyond the seemingly endless forest he had lived in for most of his life. He certainly hadn't expected it to turn out like this. He had never imagined what he would do without his best friend at all, because for some reason he believed that he would always be there.

_And Janga took his life so easily, in the blink of an eye_. Before, the thought would have burned at him, made it difficult for him to find his focus in whatever he was doing at the time. But now it just became a dull ache somewhere in his heart, a bleary acknowledgement that Tumaini really was gone and wasn't coming back. _I can't keep letting this hurt me. As hard as it'll be, I have to move on._

The dream he had last night was still vivid in his mind, even though it had faded into a deep sleep rather than wake him up in a cold sweat as it always did before. And for once, he didn't have to relive the horrifying vision of watching Janga kill Tumaini like she always did. What was more, Kopa had willingly let him walk away, and now he knew it was because he was starting to let go of the anguish that plagued him for so long. It still hurt, but with a little more time there would only remain a scar in his memory. _But I'll never forget you, Tumaini. I wish I had the chance to thank you...for everything._

"You're up early," came Vitani's voice from behind him.

Kopa didn't avert his gaze as she moved to stand by his side, watching the mountains as well. When he didn't respond, she said, "I'm trying to figure out what we're supposed to be staring at. Apart from the mountains, I mean. It's a nice view and all, but that's not what's on your mind, is it?"

He couldn't help but smile at her prattle, knowing that it was her way of getting him to talk. "My father needs his sleep. So I assigned the patrols this morning."

"Taking up the leadership like he asked you to, huh?"

"I have to start sometime. Did you and the others find a way to clean the water?"

"Oh, yeah. The other two bodies drifted out yesterday, so we pulled them out. Kovu and I showed Afua how to channel the contaminated water out of the pond. It was something we learned when we were cubs because clean water was so hard to come by in the Outlands..." She trailed off, now turning her head to stare at him. "The water is safe to drink again, so you don't have to worry about that. You sure like to talk about really serious things. Is it too much to ask for a casual conversation?"

A drop of rain landed in Kopa's eye, and he blinked it away. "Sorry. It's just...easier to stay busy and keep my mind off other things."

Vitani didn't say anything for a moment, although she knew what he was talking about. But she decided not to pry. Instead, she asked, "Hey, you remember that time you, me, Mateka, and Afua had a competition at Zulu Falls?"

Kopa's ears perked up a little. "No, what did we do?" he asked with a grin, already knowing that he was about to hear a funny cubhood story.

"We all jumped into the water to see who could hold their breath the longest," she told him, her eyes gleaming. "The winner would get to boss the others around for three days, one day each."

He laughed. "Really? So who won?"

"You, actually," she said. "Afua kept wanting rematches because he would always be the first to run out of air. So a lot of the time he would end up doing all kinds of crazy stuff because you kept beating him."

"Like what?"

"One time you forced him to tell Tama he wanted to become Mateka's mate," she snickered. "Of course, Tama was real shocked when she heard it. But then..." She started laughing harder. "...she thought he was serious, so she went and told Simba. And then he gave his approval and said they would make a nice match!"

Kopa started laughing as well, and neither of them could stop. "I...I was...that mean?"

Vitani nodded, struggling to control herself so she could speak proper words. "And then...Mateka found out...and Afua had to explain...everything...to her...she was so angry with you...but you just thought...it was funny..." She let out several deep breaths, still chuckling. "Of course Afua wanted to get you back after that. He got his chance when you were both holding your breath in the water and a fish slapped you in the face, so he finally won."

"Oh, no," said Kopa, still smiling. "And what did he make me do?" Vitani bent close and whispered it in his ear, causing both of them to break out into hysterics again.

Mateka heard Kopa's voice from around the bend of Mount Tempest, and started walking towards it. She hadn't been able to find him when she woke up and had been trying to find him all morning. _I can't keep quiet about this anymore. I have to tell him or it's going to drive me crazy_. She had no doubt that he would be greatly surprised, but whatever he would think of what she was going to confess, she just wanted him to know. _He just doesn't know how I feel. It's not like he was trying to shrug me off. At least if I tell him..._

She turned the bend and froze when she saw him and Vitani, laughing uncontrollably. She had never seen either of them so happy like this. She certainly hadn't been expecting it when Kopa had been so moody just the day before. _He's never like that with anyone..._

Mateka watched as he tried to steady himself and stand, but only managed to tip over and laugh even harder, flopping his front paws onto Vitani's back so he wouldn't fall to the ground. But she didn't seem to expect it and gave way, sending them both rolling onto the ground. Mateka felt as if all her resolve was sucked away.

It all made sense now. Why Kopa didn't seem to take notice of what was on Mateka's mind. Why he talked about Vitani all the time instead. What had driven Vitani to find him, that Mateka could never quite place. _He said it himself, didn't he? She was the first one to reach him. Not me._

It would be so easy for her to just walk up and cut short the moment between them. Pretend that she wasn't aware of what she just saw, or even act as though she was okay with it. But instead, Mateka turned and walked away, feeling like she had just emptied herself out in a heartbeat. She was not going to say anything. And she definitely wasn't going to tell him what she wanted to the most.

※※※

"Kopa seems to be doing better," remarked Afua as he walked along his patrol route with Siri. "It was a little odd, receiving orders from him, but at least he's taking to heart his new responsibilities."

"He does look more at ease," she agreed. "I think there's still something on his mind, though."

"Give him time," he said quietly. "It's not easy for him to accept that my brother is dead."

Siri didn't say anything for a moment. "How are you dealing with that? You...always avoid talking about it."

Afua sighed. "Honestly, I don't know. And I hate that I can't even figure it out. I've had a few long nights, thinking about what it would've been like if he was here right now. I've been so used to trying to forget about him that he feels like a stranger to me now. I know how bad that must sound..." He looked down.

"Hey, it's not your fault. But he told Kopa and I how sorry he was. He wanted to see you so badly..." She nudged him gently, prompting him to look up at her. "But I want to know, have you forgiven him?"

"I wish I had the chance to," he murmured. "If he was still alive. If he looked me in the face so I could see that he meant it. But...I just don't know what to think." He blinked, and for a moment Siri felt like she was looking at Tumaini again. _He used to look at me just like that.._. "I owe him for protecting you so well though. And that he gave me the chance to get to know you." His voice softened.

She felt a pulse of alarm race through her mind. Was he saying what she thought he was saying? She remained silent, completely overwhelmed by surprise. _I never would have guessed...he never gave me a sign..._

She didn't know what to say. There's no point lying about it. _Whenever I see him, I feel...happy. But why? Is it only because he's so much like Tumaini, or do I actually...?_

_No, this is wrong. I can't...I just can't do this_. Forcing a smile onto her face, Siri said, "Well, that's the end of our patrol. I'll get Kula and Mateka to relieve us." Without waiting for a response, she dashed away through the grasslands, her heart pounding in her chest.

* * *

**[Author's Note]**  
Not so much action this chapter, since I figured that Kopa had almost gone over-the-top with the fire. And someone even told me upon reaching the last chapter that Kopa seemed to be "borderline psychotic", so this is a reminder that he's still the same person he was before. I hope I've kept things interesting this chapter though, especially with the new developments I've just laid out. I've been hinting at my characters' feelings for a while now, even as far back as book 1, and some of you actually picked up on a few of them. Well, here's the confirmation, and as you may have guessed, the developments will create some form of discontent in future chapters. Stay tuned! :)

* * *

**[Original Character Names]  
Wivu:** Jealousy  
**Aibu:** Shame

**[Canon Character Names]  
Kula:** Eat


	6. Ambush in the Swamp

**[Author's Note]**  
Long chapter this time. I didn't originally plan for this chapter to be twice as long as most of my other chapters, but I just couldn't find a suitable part to split it in half. Besides, there's a lot of action in this chapter and it wouldn't have felt right to cut it off and make you all wait a few more days to find out how it turns out. Who says every chapter needs to be restricted to a certain length anyway?

* * *

Kopa spent the rest of the morning checking up on wounded members of the pride and assigning lionesses into hunting teams. Then he went to see Simba and Malka, who were both walking in short circles on the plateau.

"How do you feel?" he asked. As he walked alongside them, he slowed his pace so they could keep up.

"Better," said Simba. "Malka says he's almost fully recovered, but I think I'll need a few more days..."

Kopa remembered how his father had taken on eight lions to get him out of danger, with little regard to his own safety. "I wish there was a way we could speed up the healing process..."

Simba shrugged. "Guess it's best to let nature do its work. By the way, you're doing a great job of taking charge of the pride."

"There's not much to it," said Kopa. "Although I noticed there were a few others with injuries as well, especially the older lions. It's taking longer for their injuries to heal. I asked them how they were feeling but that was all I could do for them."

"And that's all anyone would expect of you," his father said. "Being a caring leader and making sure everyone knows you're there for them."

The prince nodded. "Kovu's job looks harder than mine, anyway. He says he's about to lead another team into Mount Tempest. His plan is to take it back within the next two days, but he needs a better way than just charging in again."

Simba gingerly reached his resting spot and laid down. "I might have a solution for both your dilemmas, Kopa," said Malka as he eased himself down beside the other king. "About a quarter of a day's journey from here, there's a swamp where many healing herbs grow. If you take Siri with you, she'll know which ones to bring back."

"I remember Rafiki used to mention travelling to a swamp on the far side of the mountains for his medicines," said Simba thoughtfully. "No one knew how he made them, but he said that you only had to mix them for illnesses. He did show me herbs that could be used directly for healing injuries."

"I'll go with her to get the herbs, then," said Kopa. "But you said you also had a solution for Kovu, Malka?"

Malka nodded. "You gave me the idea, actually."

"I did? How?"

"Afua told me how Janga's lions stick close to Mount Tempest's water sources. If we contaminate the channels without their knowing it..."

"...then we can weaken or even kill a lot of them before Kovu makes his next attack," Kopa finished, realizing what the pride king was suggesting.

"Afua will know how to find the contaminants in the swamp. You'll have to be careful not to spoil the water in the pond, but he knows which channels are safe to poison."

"Malka, are you sure about this?" Simba asked hesitantly. "If the water network becomes permanently tainted, it could be a problem when we take back Mount Tempest."

"It's a chance I'm willing to take," Malka replied. "Besides, I'm sure the water will become clean again...eventually."

Kopa was already turning to leave. "I'll get Siri and Afua."

"Bring a few others with you as well," Simba advised. "Janga's pride could be anywhere out there, and there's still no word from Zazu about where they are."

※※※

Not long after, Kopa was heading out into the plains with Kovu, Siri, Vitani, and Kiara; Afua, who knew where the swamp was located, was leading the way.

"Is there anywhere in the Serengeti you and Tumaini hadn't run off to?" Siri asked.

Afua pretended to think about it. "No," he said with a roguish grin. She couldn't help but laugh at that, causing Kopa to start laughing too, and so did Kiara and Vitani. The only one who remained silent was Kovu, and Kopa knew why.

As the group headed further into the plains, he slowed down so he was walking alongside the other male, and said quietly, "Look, it's going to be okay. We're just going into the swamp, getting some herbs, and leaving."

"We don't know where Janga's pride has run off to," Kovu answered shortly. "I wish you didn't bring Kiara along."

"It was her idea," Kopa said. It was true. He originally wanted to bring Mateka with them, but she had said that she wanted to look after the wounded and walked away without waiting for a reply. So Kiara asked to come with him instead. She had been quite insistent when he admitted that he wasn't so sure about it.

"Kiara can take care of herself," he said to Kovu. "You have to stop being so overprotective of her."

The dark-furred male's eyes narrowed. "Maybe I have reasons to be overprotective."

"Don't forget, she's my sister. I wouldn't put her in danger."

As they both fell silent, Kopa wondered if Kovu was right to be worried. What if something did happen? It was a long walk across the plains and they could be ambushed by Janga's pride either on their way to the swamp or on their way back. _I wouldn't be surprised if Jeraha's itching to get me back for burning down their last camp_.

"Hey, you two alright?"

He jumped slightly as he realized that Kiara was beside him. Her gaze moved from him to Kovu, who was still looking a little frosty. Kopa forced a smile. "Yeah, we're fine."

He could tell by her astute silence that she noticed the tension between them, but she just turned her head as they reached the top of a very low, wide hill. "Look, over there. Is that the swamp?"

Both males followed her gaze to a dark cluster of land not far off. What light came out of it was sparse and made it difficult to see very far into the thick canopy of dull, gnarled trees. Kopa could already pick up the damp, musty scent of the swamp as they neared it.

"Not very inviting, is it," said Afua. "But we're going in."

"I hope you can find your way around it as well as you say," Kopa murmured, eyeing the swamp with a little apprehension.

※※※

"There they are," said Jeraha, watching from behind the shadow of a large tree as the group of lions approached the swamp.

"I have to say I'm surprised," Kivuli remarked, also keeping her gaze on them. "How would they have known to come here? There was no way they could have known what happened to that hornbill..."

"They probably knew he was coming this way. They were bound to come looking for him." Jeraha carefully moved out of cover, checking to make sure he still couldn't be seen in the darkness. "Come on. We have to regroup with the teams."

Kivuli didn't argue as she followed him deeper in the swamp. It seemed that Jeraha called it right this time. As much as she didn't like to attract attention to what was left of their pride, she knew that he was right to take the opportunity they finally had to strike back at Kopa while he was away from the rest of his pride.

※※※

It was eerily quiet inside the swamp. But unlike the interior of Mount Tempest, it was never completely quiet. There was constantly some form of sound filling the air, from the irregular dripping that wasn't quite ambient enough to blend in with the background, or the way Kiara would jump every time the occasional cawing of some unseen bird was heard from not far off.

Even though their surroundings were as creepy as the trip into Mount Tempest, this time Kopa couldn't help but feel uneasy. Funny how trying to retrieve some plants was more nerve-wracking than hunting down an unknown number of enemy lions. _But last time we knew what to expect in Mount Tempest. There could be anything lurking in this place..._

Siri had been on edge ever since they had entered the swamp. Kiara stayed close to Kovu as they headed deeper in. Even Afua looked a bit nervous. Only Vitani betrayed no sign of emotion; her expression was stoic and her stance showed no tension. She looked alert but otherwise seemed almost indifferent to their surroundings.

Despite his own misgivings, Kopa couldn't help but admire Vitani's bold, confident demeanour. Whether she was good at hiding her emotions or actually wasn't afraid at all, it was clear that very few things could unsettle her. She could be very well doing a routine patrol along the perimeter of Mount Tempest, instead of marching through this sinister swamp.

They had made it quite a ways into the swamp when Afua called a halt among a vast cluster of ponds filled with unclean-looking water. He and Siri instructed them on looking for the right attributes on each plant and split everyone into two groups. Kopa was with Afua and Kiara, while Siri took Kovu and Vitani off to another part of the swamp. Eager to complete their task quickly and leave, they began picking large amounts of grimy, dark-leafed herbs growing at the edge of the numerous murky ponds in the swamp and put them all together into one pile. Then they were forced to reach into the bubbling ponds themselves, pulling out pawfuls of long, slimy roots.

"Pull only the triangular-leafed swamp lilies," said Afua. "If the tips of the roots are white and have small bumps on them, then they're the contaminants we want. But keep the leaves too, they're good for leeching infections out of open wounds."

"I almost feel bad for Janga's lions," said Kopa, reaching under one of the swamp lilies and pulling a long crooked root out of the pond with a _plop_. Kiara was doing the same, although she looked rather repulsed.

"Sure you want to come with us next time?" he asked, grinning at his sister, who ripped a swamp lily out of the water and quickly dropped it, wiping her paws on a nearby tree trunk.

"Kopa," said Afua in a deceptively calm voice. "Hold still." Kopa looked back to his paw, which was holding a root and saw that a spiny-shelled snail had latched onto his foreleg.

"What is that?" Kiara asked tentatively.

"Get it off him," Afua said sharply. "Fire-eyed ampullariidae are extremely poisonous, and if you make it panic—"

Kopa got the picture. His sister carefully inched over, smacking the snail off his foreleg and back into the pond. He breathed a sigh of relief. "Thanks, Kiara." He paused, wiping himself off. "How do I know I haven't been poisoned?"

Afua held up Kopa's foreleg and inspected it closely. "You're fine. But be more careful, Kopa. Most kinds of swamp snails are slow to crawl onto you, but if you don't keep your eyes on what you're doing, you might not be so lucky next time."

He picked up the trio of swamp lilies Kopa and Kiara had dropped and tossed them onto the pile. "That should be enough to lay Janga's pride low for half a lunar cycle. If we take any more, we'll end up permanently poisoning Mount Tempest's water network. Guess we should head back now. The healing plant should be easy enough to carry, just take it in your mouth like you would an animal carcass. As for the swamp liles, make sure you bite on the end that's been sticking out of the water. That way you won't accidentally sever it with your teeth, and you won't end up poisoning yourself by accident—"

"Do you hear that?" Kopa whispered, his ears standing up. Afua and Kiara froze as muffled cries of pain were heard from deeper into the swamp.

"It doesn't sound like the others," Kiara murmured nervously. "But who is it?"

"It could be a trap," said Afua. "Let's move quietly."

The three of them entered a steady run, taking care to make as little noise as possible without compromising speed. The herbs were left where they were, momentarily forgotten.

They didn't get far from where they were before the cries of pain had stopped, but Kopa knew which way to go. Whoever the voice belonged to sounded familiar, but he couldn't quite figure out who it was. The prince leaped over a protruding tree root and didn't slow even as he heard a few others stumbling on it behind him. One of his paws splashed loudly in a thick puddle of swamp mud but he didn't care about the noise anymore.

He was the first to reach a clearing, where there was a little more sunlight present than its shadowy surroundings. His heart lurched when he saw it.

Zazu was was tied to a tree across from him by a series of roots, dazed but alive. _He's not looking so good_. There were two fresh claw marks across his chest, and his plumage was covered in his own blood. One of his wings was bent at an odd angle, obviously broken. He was breathing short painful gasps and his eyes were tight with agony.

The hornbill raised his head weakly when he saw Kopa. "Prince Kopa, run!" he cried weakly. "It's not safe for you here!"

And then a dozen lions leaped out from between the trees, surrounding Kopa and cutting him off from Zazu. Afua, who was the first one to catch up, froze at the sight of the enemy lions. Before he could react, he was pounced on by two more.

"Get away from him!" came Siri's voice, and a moment later she appeared in the clearing, darting towards him. She was intercepted by a burly figure that was unmistakably Jeraha, and as they clawed and bit at each other, a fight broke out in the clearing.

Kovu was the next to reach them. His eyes swept over the scene and he gritted his teeth when he saw what was happening. "Kiara, stay close to me! Vitani, go help Kopa!"

There was no time to respond. Kovu stayed close to Kiara as she moved to pull the enemy lions off Afua. He bound over to the distracted Jeraha and knocked him off his paws with a powerful swipe.

The larger lion stood back up quickly, but Siri had already disengaged from him and managed to force the other enemy lions away from Afua with Kiara's help. Still, he was wearing a triumphant leer. "You realize you are outnumbered."

Kovu knew it too. If they stayed to fight, they would all be killed. He was aware that Kopa was still in trouble and needed help, but he had to keep his attention on Jeraha. _And where's the other one, Kivuli—_

He felt something collide painfully with his flank, throwing him off to the side. Before he could even let out a gasp of pain, he was forced on his front with his paws pinned down.

"Kovu!" cried Kiara, trying to get to him. But the enemy lions had already regrouped and moved to block them, cutting them off from reaching him.

"Prince Kovu," hissed Kivuli's voice in his ear. "Do you have any idea what we've been through because of you? Your dear mother had Scar try and kill us before we even reached adulthood in her foolish hopes of becoming royalty. All for her precious little _heir_."

Kovu struggled to free himself, but she held him fast and only pressed him down harder. "Zira is dead," he growled. "I have nothing to do with her or Scar."

"Oh, that's not enough to spare you, now. Since Simba took you into his pride, that means we're going to have to get rid of you as well."

Twin roars of pain were heard off from the side, followed by a _thud_. Kovu and Kivuli both turned to see two enemy lions fall to the ground. Kiara pounced at them in a blur, her expression uncharacteristically fierce and her claws bloody.

The other two enemy lions turned in surprise as she ran past them, and Afua and Siri overpowered them in one swift move. The next moment, Kiara smashed into Kivuli, sending her sliding across the muddy ground.

Jeraha growled and moved towards her, but Kovu was now standing, and he caught his opponent by surprise once again with a hard back-handed paw across the face. Behind him, Kopa and Vitani broke through the ring of lion surrounding them, both breathing heavily.

"Run!" Afua yelled. The six of them broke into a sprint, with multiple lions on their tails. They left the clearing behind, concentrating on nothing but dodging the gnarly trees and trying not to trip over the uneven terrain.

"We have to go back!" Kopa shouted. "Zazu's still back there, and he's hurt!"

"We have to lose them first!" Kovu said.

"We should split up!" said Afua. "One group will double around and get Zazu, the rest of us will fend them off until we're clear. Follow me!"

The six of them rearranged their formation, trying not to slow down and maintaining their distance from their pursuers. Although Kopa hadn't yet regained his breath from his narrow escape, he kept his focus on keeping up with the others, knowing that a single slip-up on his part could be fatal.

"I hope you have a plan," Siri panted.

"I do," Afua said. "I just hope it's going to work. Okay. Siri, Vitani, when I say 'now', turn left and head back the way we came. Siri, you know how to find the clearing again, right?"

She nodded, her expression one of grim determination.

"Good. The rest of you, do _exactly_ what I do. Get ready, we're almost there."

Kopa had no idea what his friend had planned, but trusted his knowledge of the swamp and didn't allow time for doubts. As they cut through the swamp, he noticed that the sunlight was becoming gradually brighter until suddenly, they cleared a dense line of trees and were running under an open sky.

"Now!" Afua yelled. Vitani and Siri moved at the same time, turning sharply to the side and disappearing back into the foliage.

Behind them, Jeraha's attention became diverted by this unexpected move. Before he could order a few of his lions to give chase, his team cleared the treeline as well, causing dazzling sun rays to stab into their eyes. Unaccustomed to the light after lurking in the swamp for so many hours, every one of them winced and instinctively squeezed their eyes shut, trying to clear their vision while keeping up with the lions they were pursuing.

Kopa didn't have time to notice what was going on behind him. All he saw was that the ground was ending in a short cliff up ahead. Afua slowed and ducked his head, rolling off the edge of the cliff without hesitation. Kopa almost stopped when he saw this, but against his instincts, did the same. He fell through the air alongside Kovu and Kiara, and after a brief tumble, the four of them landed in a thick cluster of bushes, unharmed.

And then Jeraha and his team ran off the cliff edge. The lions, still partially blinded by the sunlight, roared in surprise as the ground turned to air beneath their paws. They soared over the heads of the lions they were chasing and landed in a sticky mass of swamp water with a tumult of goopy splashes, one after another.

"Come on," said Afua, standing from the bushes and reaching for the cliff edge above his head. "It'll take them a while to get out of that, but we'd better move quickly."

The four of them climbed up and back to the elevated ground, leaving Jeraha's team to splash about in a frenzy, panicking and trying to wade their way out of the thick liquid to little effect. Kopa was the first one up, and without waiting for the others, broke into a run at top speed.

"Kopa, wait!" called Kiara, but her brother didn't slow down. The sound of the enemy lions' agitated roars and Jeraha's vain attempts to calm them faded away as he sprinted back into the swamp.

※※※

"How did they know how to tie knots like this?" Siri asked as she worked to free Zazu from the vines that bound him to the tree. She managed to loosen part of the knot, and pulled at it, but it didn't do any good.

"Forget untying it," Vitani said, her eyes still sweeping the clearing as she stood guard. "Try breaking it again."

"I told you, I recognize this type of vine," said Siri shortly, becoming increasingly frustrated as she fought to work out the knots. "They're practically unbreakable."

"Well, figure something out fast. We just ran out of time."

Siri turned and saw Kivuli emerging into the clearing with two other lions. Vitani shifted into an offensive stance. "Keep trying! I'll hold them off."

There was no time to reply. As Vitani leaped at the enemy lions, Siri hurriedly returned her attention to freeing Zazu, who was now unconscious from blood loss. _We have to get him back to Mount Tempest, and fast!_ She forced herself not to rush, trying to work methodically while ignoring the sounds of fighting behind her. Her paws were smudged with the hornbill's blood. _You can do this. You know how to untie these knots._

Vitani fought to hold her ground, trying to fend off Kivuli's attacks while keeping note of what the other two were doing. The grey-furred lioness was quite a formidable fighter, but Vitani's training hadn't been for nothing. This time though, her priority was to keep them away from Siri without letting herself get swarmed, which was much harder than it sounded.

Vitani moved her back paw behind a small sharp stone and kicked it towards one of the lions as he was running at her. Before he could react, he stepped on it and roared in pain. She knocked him back with a strong tackle, causing him to trip over a protruding tree root. He hit his head hard against a boulder, and was still.

She noticed that the other lion was making a break at Siri. In one swift movement, she swept up the rock and kicked it at him. It caught him in the back of the ear, causing him to flinch. It gave Siri enough time to turn and claw him across the face, bringing him down.

Vitani moved to keep Siri covered as she returned her attention to untying Zazu. But out of the corner of her eye, she saw Kivuli moving to intercept, and Vitani shifted her posture, stepping to the side—

Her paw instantly sank into a pool of muddy water, causing her to lose her balance. She grunted, trying to move, but her paw was stuck fast. A heartbeat later, Kivuli's paws wrapped around her throat, and she was thrust headfirst into the pool.

Siri had finally freed Zazu and laid him gently on the vines. Then she noticed what was going on. "Let her go!" she shouted. The lion lying at her paws tried to get up, but she swatted him aside with a hard kick.

"Then you'd better tell me where Kopa is," Kivuli snarled. Bubbles were coming up in the water between her paws, but her grip on Vitani's thrashing form was unrelenting.

"I don't know. Don't kill her. Let her go."

The grey-furred lioness scoffed. "Or what? Kopa nearly burned our pride to death a few nights ago, so you'll excuse me if I'm not feeling too merciful."

Shock became etched on Siri's face. "He couldn't have done that. I don't believe you."

"I don't need you to believe me," Kivuli said. Below her, the bubbling above Vitani's face had stopped, although she was still writhing and trying to free herself. "He's killed enough of my friends now, and I'm going to make sure he gets what's co—"

A golden blur flashed by Siri's face. In the blink of an eye, Kopa had Kivuli pinned on the ground, his expression furious. But Vitani was now laying still in the cloudy pool, her back paws protruding out of the edge of the water without so much of a twitch to them. As Siri hurriedly moved to pull her out, she saw Kivuli push Kopa onto his back before running off. He immediately leaped to his paws, sprinting after her.

"Don't do it, Kopa!" Siri cried, even though he was already gone. She dragged the unmoving Vitani onto dry land, when Kovu burst through the foliage with Kiara and Afua behind him. The dark-furred male's eyes snapped to his sister lying on the ground.

"Vitani!" He immediately hurried over, pressing his face against her chest and listening for a heartbeat. After a moment of dread, his expression relaxed and he gave a sigh of relief. "She's fine. There's a lot of water in her lungs, but I can take care of it. Hold her still."

Siri and Afua did as he said and held her down by her paws. Kovu pressed his paws up and down between her ribs, repeating the motion until Vitani twitched and started coughing up the foul water. He eased her onto her front when she was able to breathe again, and she opened her eyes, spitting out more water.

"You alright?" Kovu asked quietly.

"Yeah," Vitani said, heaving for breath. "Where...where's Kopa?"

"He ran off," said Siri. "After Kivuli."

Kiara looked rather worried. Kovu exchanged glances with Afua. "Then we'd better get him. Come on, let's go."

"Hold on," said Afua. "Knowing Kivuli, she's bound to lead Kopa into a trap. We're going need to catch her by surprise."

"We don't have much time or we'll lose her," said Kovu. "How are we supposed to catch her by surprise?"

Afua looked up.

※※※

Despite his long run back to the clearing, Kopa felt a drive that had no shortage of energy. He was catching up, and he kept his eyes on her back, ready to leap and pin her down. This time, he would kill her before she had the chance to escape again.

In front of him, Kivuli suddenly made a short leap between two of the trees. Before Kopa could comprehend what she was doing, he felt his paws snag on a thick vine that was almost the same colour as the surrounding swamp. He tumbled to the ground with a grunt.

He looked up to see himself surrounded by almost a dozen lions emerging from the trees, including the muddied Jeraha and his team. Kopa growled and stood, staring them down defiantly as they closed in on him.

"You're a bold one, Kopa," said Jeraha. "Starting a fire in the hills was risky, and something I didn't think you'd have the nerve to do."

Kopa didn't reply. Instead, he launched himself at the larger lion, deciding that even if he was about to die, he would try and kill at least one of Janga's closest friends.

He was immediately pounced on by four other lions. Jeraha didn't even move as he watched Kopa being subdued, and his fruitless efforts to fend them off. Off to the side, Kivuli was looking the other way, no doubt staying alert in case his friends showed up to save him. _They will have to be dealt with too. We will have to find them and—_

Kivuli looked up, and was the first to see them. She was ready when Kovu leaped down from a high tree at her. She managed to dodge him, but the lioness behind her wasn't so lucky, and crashed to the ground in a flurry of claws and teeth. Kivuli was about to help her when he saw a second lion—Vitani—lunge towards her.

The momentary distraction had cost Kivuli her reaction time, and although she couldn't dodge away in time, she braced for the attack, and managed to dig her back paws into the muddy ground as she and Vitani clashed. Off to the side, Siri and Kiara jumped down towards Jeraha while Afua moved to help Kopa.

"Don't let him pass!" Kivuli roared. "Kill Kopa!"

"That's not going to happen," Vitani snarled as she traded blows with the grey lioness. She was trying to get past her, trying to get to Kopa.

Kivuli took advantage of her opponent's lack of offensive attacks to claw her down her side. She smirked as Vitani flinched, faltering and glaring back at her. "Funny, he was the one who put you all in danger."

"No, he wasn't." Vitani made an upward slash at Kivuli's face, but missed. Undeterred, she followed up with a sudden tackle, slamming her shoulder into the other lioness' ribs. Kivuli retaliated by smacking her hard in the chest with an underpaw strike, causing her to back up towards a tree.

"You don't have to take my word for it," said Kivuli tauntingly. "But anyone with half an eye can see your friend has gone mad for revenge—"

Vitani grabbed an overhanging branch and pulled it back hard. She let go, whipping Kivuli hard on the side of the face. Her opponent roared and stumbled back, giving the younger lioness the chance to get past her and towards the group of lions surrounding Kopa.

Kovu had joined Afua and the two of them managed to break the formation, giving Kopa the chance to break free. _We're still outnumbered,_ Vitani thought, looking around at all the enemy lions. But now they actually had a chance to make a run for it. They could all make it out alive—

Kivuli bolted upright with lightning speed, her eyes murderous as she pounced at Kopa.

"Look out!" Vitani yelled.

※※※

In the canopy above the fighting, Zazu stirred. He shifted on the tree trunk he was lying against, wincing as he tried not to move his broken wing. He realized that he was sitting on a branch not too high off the ground. _How did I get here? Where am I?_ He straightened with alarm when he registered the sound of lions roaring and tearing at each other below. And then he remembered. _It was an ambush! Master Kopa is in danger!_

The hornbill moved himself with some difficulty so that he could see what was going on below. It didn't look good. Janga's lions had Kopa and the others outnumbered two to one, and it would only be a matter of time before the young lions were killed. Despite the pain shooting up his useless wing, Zazu felt a mounting frustration overtake his own predicament. _What can I do? If only I could fly back and warn Simba, but I can't get anywhere with this blasted wing_. But there was no time to ponder, because what he saw next drove all rational thought from his mind.

Zazu watched helplessly as Kivuli leaped on Kopa. Vitani was the first to run at her, but she was intercepted by three lions. Jeraha was keeping Kiara and Siri at bay, and Kovu and Afua were being held back by the rest of the enemy lions. It was clear that their foremost intention was to kill Kopa.

_This can't be happening!_ Zazu thought frantically, panic flooded his being. _I can't allow this! I have a duty to protect him!_ But what could he do? He was just a bird a fraction the size of Kivuli, with one working wing and no idea how to take on a full-size lioness. If he tried to intervene, he would just be killed—

And then a calmness settled over the majordomo. Maybe he wouldn't stand a chance, but it didn't mean he couldn't do anything. Kopa's life came before his own, that much he had always known. _I can't allow this. I have a duty to protect him._

He crawled clumsily along the side of the branch, blood dripping from the gashes in his plumage and onto the wood. He positioned himself directly above Kivuli, who was tearing and biting at Kopa relentlessly; he was trying to fight back but was no match for her. It was hard for him to hear the prince crying out in pain, but Zazu forced himself not to rush. When he was sure of his trajectory, he let himself fall, not even opening his wings to slow himself down.

Kivuli roared as Zazu's beak stabbed into the back of her neck. She reared up, trying to dislodge him with her paws, but couldn't reach him properly. Below her, Kopa opened his eyes, his face covered in blood. He watched in amazement as Zazu pecked and stabbed at every bit of the lioness he could reach. He had never seen the majordomo so aggressive, or ever hurt another creature at all. His paws were now freed from her grip, but he didn't dare strike back for fear of harming the already injured hornbill.

Zazu dug his talons as far into Kivuli's fur as he could, although he could tell that he wasn't doing much damage. He kept attacking her with his beak, which was now splattered with blood. He kept up the flurry of attacks, hoping that Kopa was taking the chance to escape. The majordomo was dimly aware that his own fate was already sealed; he was grounded and fighting a lioness that he couldn't possibly kill, with no chance of outrunning her or any of the other enemy lions. _All I have to do is give Kopa as much time as possible. That's all that matters—_

And then Zazu felt a paw strike him, stunning him completely. He rolled pitifully off Kivuli's side and landed on the hard muddy ground. He caught the silver gleam of Kivuli's eye, and the blur of her paw coming down towards him. He closed his eyes, letting his head roll limply to the side. There was a sickening crunch, a flash of pain, and then everything went black.

※※※

"ZAZU!" roared Kopa. With a yell of fury, he flung Kivuli off him. He rolled back up and beat and slashed at her her more ruthlessly than she had done to him, forcing her away from Zazu's broken body. She staggered from the initial attack but had time to recover as the rest of the enemy lions blocked him off from her. He didn't care, unleashing his manic rage on them and trying to get to the lioness they were protecting.

"He's crazy," growled Kovu, breathing heavily as the lions he was fighting backed off to shield Kivuli. "We can't stay and fight, they'll kill us sooner or later."

Afua already knew that Kopa's sense of reason was gone. He gritted his teeth, due to a combination of his injuries and his own aggravation with his friend's lust for vengeance. "Kovu, go help the others. I'll take care of Kopa."

Kovu nodded, turning around without questions and running towards Jeraha. The large lion was still holding his ground against Siri and Kiara, as well as Vitani who had joined the fight. Afua's gaze lingered momentarily on Zazu's crumpled form on the ground before he took the hornbill's body in his mouth. Without further pause, he dashed straight at the line of lions Kopa was fighting, and clearly losing against.

Afua smashed himself into the centre of the formation, knocking back a couple of the lions with the sheer force of his reckless attack. They took a step back, caught unawares by the sudden ferocity of his charge. Now that he had their attention, he knew they were about to retaliate, and Kopa was going to take advantage of their momentary disunity to try and reach Kivuli. He would fail, and most likely be killed trying, which meant that Afua had to move fast.

"I can't believe I'm doing this again," he muttered. He closed his paw, slamming it into the back of Kopa's head as hard as he could. Afua swept up his senseless friend, placed him onto his back, and before the enemy lions realized what was going on, turned tail and ran.

* * *

**[Author's Note]**  
Afua's really got a strong left hook, wouldn't you say? And yeah, Kopa had a chance to take a breather in the last chapter but it doesn't mean he's escaped his darker side. And it seems his vengeful recklessness has cost him dearly this time. Hope Zazu's death wasn't too upsetting for you guys.

By the way, "ampullariidae", commonly referred to as "apple snails", are actually amphibious types of snails with gills and can be found in swamps. I don't think they're actually poisonous, so the term "fire-eye" was completely made up by me as a poisonous variant of the ampullariidae family.**  
**

* * *

**[Canon Character Names]  
Rafiki:** Friend


	7. Unrequited

It was a desolate party that returned to Mount Tempest that evening. They had given Janga's pride the slip before gathering up the herbs they picked and leaving the swamp under the cover of night. Afua and Kovu had taken turns carrying Kopa's unconscious form and by the time dawn was starting to break, they managed to reach the safety of the mountain stronghold.

Simba and Malka had both been shocked to see the state that the six of them returned in. They had been particularly concerned about Kopa, who hadn't awakened yet, but when Kovu gingerly showed him Zazu's body and told him what had happened, Simba had become silent. When he finally commended them on bringing back the herbs and told them to get some rest, Kovu thought he looked rather hurt.

Afua was laying in the grass with Kovu and Vitani, and the three of them were watching Simba, who was sitting alone with Kopa's still form lying before him. Kiara, who had the least injuries between them, was elsewhere helping Kula and Chumvi administer the healing herbs. "It must be hard for Simba," Afua said quietly. "I remember he told me once that Zazu had been majordomo ever since Mufasa's reign."

"Even harder since he's trying to deal with knowing that it was Kopa's fault," Kovu muttered.

Vitani straightened, staring at him incredulously. "You're blaming Kopa for this mess?"

"That's not fair," Afua protested, coming to his friend's defence immediately. "Kopa didn't get Zazu captured."

"No, but he ran ahead of us when he wasn't supposed to," Kovu snapped. "He didn't even think for a moment, just kept chasing after Kivuli, and almost got himself killed. You had to knock him out to even get him back here. You, Vitani, nearly drowned and he just left you behind and tried to take on six or seven lions at once. He's dangerous, and Simba knows it."

Afua and Vitani looked at each other, both of them with the same expression of resignation. They knew he was right.

"He was just...reacting to the situation we were in," she said at last, but without much conviction. "And he wanted payback. We all know that. Maybe...he just isn't used to looking out for anyone else. Even if we're his family, he hardly remembers us."

"Or maybe he doesn't think of us as family at all," Kovu said darkly. "I'm starting to think there was only one person he saw as family, and all Kopa wants to do is avenge him."

Afua sighed. "I had a feeling. As much as I hate to say it, maybe Kopa just isn't who he used to be."

"No," said Vitani sharply. "He's not always like this. He's just confused right now. I know he's better than this."

"Well, we'll see," Kovu murmured, his eyes on Simba. "It looks like Kopa's waking up."

Afua stood, keeping his gaze averted as he walked away. "I'd better go see if I can help Kiara out. We still have an attack to plan tomorrow, Kovu. After what we've been through to get the contaminants, we'd better put them to good use."

※※※

As Kopa regained consciousness, the first thing he saw was Simba's eyes on his. His father's expression was melancholy, and also had something like concern and disappointment in it. The prince groaned as he tried to sit up, feeling as if his injuries were burning at him. Then his brain caught up to what he was seeing, and he realized that he wasn't in the swamp anymore.

"Take it easy, son," said Simba, his voice rather heavy.

"Father, I—" Kopa began, but his father stopped him by raising his paw.

"There's...no need to explain. Kovu told me everything." When Kopa didn't say anything, Simba continued, "We don't have time to waste. He's going to lead the next team into Mount Tempest tomorrow. But I want you to stay behind."

"Father, you can't be serious," the prince protested, trying to sit up again. The king gently placed a paw onto his back and eased him back down.

"You were all lucky to get out of there alive. But I have to keep watch on you from now on. I don't think you're ready to lead the pride."

Kopa looked away, casting his eyes around frantically. He spotted Zazu lying nearby, his wings folded against his body and his expression completely relaxed. The young lion felt a jolt of anger return when he remembered that the majordomo was still yet to be avenged. "I won't disappoint you again. I'll make it right, I just need another chance—"

"Kopa, Zazu gave up his own life to save you," Simba murmured sadly. "Can't you respect what he did and stop with all this? When will it be enough for you?"

"When they're all dead, that's when it'll be enough," said Kopa, his teeth gritted. "There's not many of them left. I can do it. I'll show them. I'll show them all!" With that, he leaped to his paws and dashed away.

"Kopa, don't!" Simba shouted pleadingly, but his son paid no heed to his call. He vanished into the grass and towards Mount Tempest, ignoring his still-recovering body's cries of protest.

"Oh, no," Kovu muttered. "Tani, wait here." He got up as well and gave chase, listening for the sound of Kopa rustling the grass and his light, rapid footfalls. He spotted the other prince just as they both cleared onto the plateau, and with a single leap, Kovu pinned him down.

Kopa fought to force him off, but was too drained of energy to put much strength behind it. That didn't stop him from shooting Kovu an angry glare, however. "Leave me alone," he snarled, as nearby lions spotted the commotion and were coming over to see what was going on.

"Don't you see what you're doing?" Kovu snapped back, holding Kopa down firmly by his wrists. "Your hate is getting the better of you. You're letting it control you, and you're scaring everyone who cares about you."

"I'm doing this _because_ I care about them," Kopa growled. The two of them were almost nose to nose now, their eyes locked on each other.

"Well, stop it. All you're doing is ruining yourself." Kovu pressed his face even closer. "Look at me, Kopa. Do you see this scar on my face? I got this scar because I let my own hate define me for most of my life. When I finally realized it, it was too late and I watched my own brother die in front of my eyes. This scar is a reminder for me never to forget that. If you keep doing this, it'll only be those you care about who will end up getting hurt. And then you'll have your own scars to bear. Don't you understand?"

Kopa just stared at him for a long time. Kovu held his gaze, seeing the darkness in his crimson eyes and trying to find a trace of the kindness Vitani had always told him about. Finally, Kopa said, "Let me go."

Kovu slowly released his grip, allowing him to get up. Kopa turned away, his eyes fixed on Mount Tempest. "If you're not going to help me, then just stay out of my way," he said quietly. "You don't know what it's like—to forget so much of your life, or to lose someone who cared about you—the one person you see as a brother who you thought would always be there."

"Don't I?" Kovu asked quietly, but the question went unheard. The other lions standing around stared after Kopa as he walked past them and disappeared around the mountain bend.

※※※

"Are you going to be alright?" asked Siri.

Afua, who was staring up the side of Mount Tempest, turned at the sound of her voice. "I'll be fine. As if a few lions can catch me in my own home." He smiled, but it looked rather strained.

"Stay safe," she murmured. His gaze lingered on her, and just like always, she felt herself captivated by those brilliant orange eyes. His expression was wistful, and at the same time troubled. But without another word, he turned away, picking up the contaminants in his teeth before beginning his precarious climb up the side of Mount Tempest.

She watched as he disappeared behind a protruding ledge before reappearing and climbing even higher. _I hope he's right. I don't think I can lose him too._

※※※

"Twelve," said Jeraha quietly.

Kivuli, who was running back and forth, rallying the others so they could move camp, stopped as she was about to pass him. "What?"

"There are twelve of us left," he said.

"I know, I counted them," she snapped, already knowing where this was going.

He stormed over to her. "This time we were ready for them. We set up the ambush. And still, they got away, after killing five of ours, and what did we do? Step on a hornbill?"

The mockery stung, more than it should have. Kivuli bristled. "You're right. Maybe we shouldn't have tried to ambush them. We should have just avoided them altogether."

"I've had enough of this, Kivuli!" Jeraha snarled, not caring if the others heard or not. "I am leading the others to Mount Tempest tonight, and we're going to free the others. You can come or you can stay behind. I don't care which. But that's final."

As he spun and walked away, he heard no response from Kivuli, which he took as submission. He walked past each of the ten survivors of the pride, knowing they had heard every word and seeing no objection or discontent in their expressions. _They're as tired of all this running and hiding as I am. And they're aware that the others are alive and can be saved_. Seeing this convinced him that he was right, and spurred on by the thought of bringing back those that even Janga gave up for dead, he began to think of a plan.

※※※

When Afua returned safely from Mount Tempest, Kovu was readying the assault teams with Malka's suggestion of who to bring along. It would be a much bigger attack this time.

"Now that the water is contaminated, you might be able to deal with every single one of Janga's lions," Malka said, watching as more of his pride members assembled to be placed in a team. "Ruza, you're on Kovu's team. Kafiri, you're with Afua."

Afua counted the number of lions on his team and nodded to confirm that they were at full strength. "I'll give it until the sun reaches the middle of the sky before the poison sets in," he told Kovu, who would be leading the main team. "If we wait too long though, they'll start noticing the effects of the contamination. Our best advantage would be to find them before they do."

"How are we going to find them, besides running around the mountain looking for their scents?" asked Babu, who along with Boga, was on Vitani's team.

"It'll be easy to pick up the scent of the poison," Afua explained. "Look for water sources, and go from there until you catch it. Janga's lions will all be breathing it out, which will leave a strong trail."

Everyone had been briefed on the expected effects the contaminants. The enemy lions' sense of smell would be dulled, which would make it easier to catch them unawares. Their reaction time would also become sluggish and handicap them greatly in a fight. And if enough time had passed, they would eventually start to hallucinate before the poison killed them.

"Depending on how much of the water they drink, it will take anywhere between one and three nights before the poison becomes fatal," Afua said. "We could just let them die but it's a risk since some of them could become suspicious. We need to deal with as many of them as we can before they notice the effects."

"Kopa's not coming?" asked Chumvi, who had been part of the Tempest pride for a long time and was assigned as another team leader.

Kovu shook his head. "Simba wants him to help Mateka with treating the wounded." His tone suggested that Kopa hadn't taken this suggestion very well. He looked around, checking the five teams that would be entering Mount Tempest by midday. "How many are we still waiting for?"

"I need two more on my team," said Siri. She was thinking the same thing the others were. _It would have been better to have Kopa come along. He puts up a good fight_. But everyone had become just as wary of him lately as they were Janga's lions themselves, and Simba had insisted that his son stay behind.

Kiara emerged from the tall thicket of grass, followed by her hunting party. "You might all want something to eat to bring your strength up before you go," she said, trying not to sound nervous despite the fact that nearly half their numbers were about to make a second venture into hostile territory. As the others made way for the hunting party to set down their kills, she walked off, heading towards Simba's resting spot as she always did when she returned. Kovu followed his mate away from the group.

He still remembered the incident in the swamp, how fierce Kiara had suddenly become when she saw that he was in danger. He didn't know her to have ever been like that, and realized that Kopa was right about one thing. She wasn't quite the vulnerable princess he was used to seeing her as. She could take care of herself.

_I can't have her on the team, though_. He still wasn't willing to put her in danger when he could avoid it. Besides, Kiara and her hunting party were tasked to guard Simba and Malka while the assault teams entered Mount Tempest. After all, with twenty-five lions absent from keeping the surrounding plateau safe, Jeraha or Kivuli could use the opportunity to lead an attack of their own. Kovu hoped this wouldn't be the case; with any luck, Kiara's job would be a precaution and not a necessity.

"Aren't you hungry, Kovu?" she asked, bringing him out of his thoughts. He noticed that she had stopped walking and was staring back at him.

He padded up so that he was beside her, and pressed his face against hers. "Stay safe, alright? We're just going to be gone for a little while."

"It's you I'm worried about," she murmured, returning the nuzzle.

Kovu sighed. "Don't worry about me, Kiara. Keep an eye on your brother."

From the look on her face, he knew that she was worried about Kopa too. Still, she managed to replace the anxiety knitting in her brow with that familiar smile Kovu always loved seeing. "I will. He'll be fine. Hey, it'll work out, you'll see. Maybe when this is all over, we can try and have another cub."

The thought clutched at his heart, although the unpredictability of their circumstances made it hard to hold onto any form of hope for long. "Yeah. Maybe."

Kiara licked him affectionately on the cheek. "Good luck," she said, and walked off.

※※※

Kopa ripped a triangular lily leaf from its roots a little more forcefully than was necessary, discarding the poisonous end and pressing the leaf to an injured lion's foreleg. He was momentarily fascinated by the way the leaf sucked out the nasty-looking pus that had clotted around the lion's limb, along with a good portion of infected blood that was starting to turn brown. He dropped the leaf and grabbed a handful of herbs, from which the grime had been cleaned, and wrapped it around the gash, binding it with some paste Siri had made out of some mysterious fruit.

The lion inspected the treated wound. "Thanks, Prince Kopa."

"Don't scratch it," Kopa said shortly, as Siri had told him to tell the wounded.

His task done, he moved onto the next lion in the group, who had several deep cuts on his back. "Hold still," he said, checking over the injuries. "Was this already treated?"

"Mateka cleaned it with water last night," the lion told him. "She said that was all she could do though."

Kopa made sure that the claw marks were already disinfected before adding the healing herbs. He lopped a pawful of paste and used it to keep the herbs in place. "The cuts are in the middle of your back. You're going to have to walk carefully, or this will fall off. Wait two days and then wash yourself in one of the uncontaminated streams, the paste will come off easily."

He finished treating the lion and continued onto the next, trying not to let the wounded notice him fuming. He was stuck here on medical duty, even though just about everyone knew he would be more help going with one of Kovu's assault teams. Still, Simba had been firm about him staying here, and although Kopa knew his father wasn't trying to insult him, it didn't make the decision any less frustrating for him.

_And what in the name of the Great Kings is Mateka doing? I feel like she's avoiding me_. Kopa could see her, on the far side of the group of wounded, treating them with much more care than he was doing. He could have sworn she was looking his way every once in a while, but he couldn't be sure. And although he had been carrying out his task while trying to make his way over to her, she would be farther away every time he looked up from tending to someone.

As Kopa finished patching up two lionesses, a drop of rain landed on his snout. He looked up to realize suddenly that the sky was a lot darker than it had been just a few minutes ago. The sun, which had been almost at the centre of the sky, had disappeared behind a massive cluster of dark grey clouds. A bolt of lightning crackled across the sky.

And then suddenly, a heavy rain began pouring down on them, drowning out the relative silence in an endless shower of water splattering against the rocks and grass. "Everyone, under the alcove!" Mateka called to the group of wounded, who promptly got up and ran towards Mount Tempest. Although lions generally did not mind a bit of rain, they had been instructed to stay dry as much as possible to prevent the herbs they were given from falling off.

It was a short run to the alcove, which was simply the blocked-off main entrance to Mount Tempest. It was a wide passageway and the boulder that was locked in place was set farther into the mountain than the others, which provided an overhanging plane of rock to shield anyone from the rain. Kopa and Mateka rallied the wounded already wearing healing herbs into the alcove first, followed by those still waiting for their turn.

Mateka glanced at him, realized that he was next to her, and was about to duck into the alcove when he put a paw on her shoulder. "Hey, wait up."

She stopped and turned around rather frostily. "I have to check on the others in case their herbs have fallen off."

"They're fine, I already checked," he said.

Her eyes narrowed. "No, you didn't."

"Mateka, what's the matter?" Kopa asked, deciding to cut right to the chase. "Why aren't you talking to me?"

She said nothing, just stared at him silently. Before, he had the feeling that she was angry, but all he could see in her eyes was hurt and confusion. She was trying to hide it, but her rigid demeanour didn't quite cover it up. She shook her head and looked away. "Forget it. It's nothing."

"No, wait!" he nudged her face with his paw so that she was facing him again. They were still standing in the rain and were now becoming soaked. It only made her look more miserable than ever. "I want to know if I've done something wrong. The others..." he stopped, and sighed, deciding to just say it. "...the others don't trust me anymore. I know they're worried about me, but they don't understand why I'm doing this. I want to explain it to them when I have the chance, but I just need more time. But I don't know how long I can do this, I feel like no one is going to take my side. Is that why you're avoiding me, Mateka? Do you see me and feel like you don't recognize me anymore? Don't do this, look, I'm still me, I—" She cut off his babbling by suddenly pouncing on him, knocking him away from the alcove entrance and causing him to fall onto his back.

And she kissed him.

Kopa felt his face go numb, and the shock of it spread down his entire body. He had no idea what to do, or how to react. But he finally realized what had been on Mateka's mind all along, from the moment they had been reunited in Mount Tempest. He just laid there, as the rain continued to come down on them, barely feeling her mouth in his, and stared up at her, unmoving.

Then she straightened up, opening her eyes. He could see the longing in those soft brown eyes, and wished he could say something. But his mind was blank, still processing the fact that one of his best friends since he had been a cub had just kissed him. "I trust you," she whispered, her voice barely audible over the intensifying downpour that cut them off from the rest of the world. "I know you're still the same Kopa I always knew. The same Kopa I'm in love with..."

"Mateka..." he began, but she took her paws off his chest and turned her back to him.

"I tried not to give in," she murmured. "I'd try, every time I see you I'd _try_. But I can't, Kopa. I just can't." She looked back at him, her expression pleading. "Do you love me, Kopa?"

"I..." Kopa struggled with the words, his mind still trying to resuscitate itself. "...I don't know, Mateka. I wish I did, but...I've never thought about it."

Her mouth was tight, and she looked a bit ashamed about what she had just done. "That's what I thought. I wish you said you did, but I'd rather you don't lie to me." Her voice was hollow.

Kopa's ears picked up Afua's voice not far off. He turned towards the sound and saw the faint outlines of the assault team approaching the mountain. "We have to go, now! All this rain is going to end up in the basin and dilute the contaminants. We're close enough to the time anyway—" The rest of his words were drowned out as a crash of thunder echoed across the sky.

"You'd better go, Kopa," said Mateka, her voice shaking to regain control. "Leave the wounded to me."

Kopa stood up as she disappeared around the corner and back into the alcove. He turned and headed in the other direction, his mind reeling. He sprinted around to the other side of Mount Tempest, his mind reeling as the full realization of what had just happened sank in. He slumped against the rock, trying to find some rational thought to the chaos surging through his mind. _She's my friend. But she loves me. I don't know if I love her. What am I supposed to do?_

He let out a roar of frustration, pounding his paw against the solid mountain face. _Why does it have to be so difficult? She wants to avoid me because she can't even look at me. How can we be friends if this is just going to come between us? And...how am I going to know if I want what she wants? It'd be easier if I did! I can't even say no, because I can't make sense of it...what if I do love her and I just don't realize it?_

_I can't do this. It's going to drive me crazy_. Kopa shook rainwater out of the locks in his mane, staring at the sealed-off entrance beside him. And without thinking about what he was doing, he dashed over to the boulder and gripped it with both paws, trying to find purchase on its saturated surface. He clawed and wrenched at it, shouting incomprehensibly as if he could let out all his turmoil if he tried hard enough.

He swore as his paw became jammed between the boulder and the crevice, not painfully so, but enough to get him stuck. He tried to pull it out, but he felt a slight pressure that told him he would only crush his paw by doing so. He slid his paw down the length of the crevice instead, trying to find a wider spot—

And it touched stone. Kopa stopped, feeling carefully. The stone wasn't part of the boulder, that was for sure. It felt like a thick, flat slab protruding from the passageway wall and seemed to be locking the boulder in place. There was a spot beneath it that might have enough room to pull his paw out. He tugged at the slab, trying to move it, but to no avail. Feeling increasingly awkward about his predicament, he worked his way down the length of the slab until he felt his paw grip the end of the stone. He rotated his paw, now feeling the slab turn with surprisingly little effort.

And then the boulder moved. Kopa gave a cry of alarm, wriggling his paw under the slab he was still gripping and freeing himself. He hastily dove out of the way as the boulder barrelled past him. It rolled down the side of the plateau until it landed with a splash in the nearby stream.

He looked around to see if anyone was nearby and had noticed, but there were no other lions on this side of the mountain. They couldn't have heard the commotion either; with the storm now coming down in its full force on them, everyone else had to be looking for cover. He turned his gaze back to the passageway before him, which was now open.

He thought momentarily on what he was considering as he stared into the darkness that beckoned to him. He could go back and tell Malka he had accidentally opened one of the passageways. And then what? He'd be sent back to tend to injured lions, assure Simba that he was behaving, and all the while try to figure out whether to start avoiding Mateka or give in to her.

_No. I can't deal with all this right now_. Checking one more time to make sure he was alone, Kopa dashed into Mount Tempest.

Jeraha and Kivuli stepped out from underneath a rocky ledge between Mount Tempest and the rest of the mountain range, along with all ten of their remaining lions. They watched the entrance carefully as they approached it.

"We should have killed him while he was alone," Jeraha said quietly.

"The rest of the pride is just on the other side of the mountain," Kivuli shot back. "Even if they don't hear us, the scent of blood travels easily."

He didn't reply to this, and wordlessly led the group into the passageway without further pause. _First I will find my brethren. Then I'm coming for you, Kopa. You will never make it out of Mount Tempest alive._

* * *

**[Author's Note]**  
So now Kopa has one more thing to worry about, on top of everything else. I'm really driving the poor kid crazy, aren't I? Not going to give too many details, but the next chapter is going to be very messy. For now...any guesses on where this is going to go? Bonus points for anyone that guesses right. Bonus points for what, you ask? Hm...how about this, whoever is closest will get a cameo in book 4's blooper reel. Sound like fun? :)**  
**

* * *

**[Original Character Names]  
Ruza:** Rough


	8. The Darkness Returns

**[Author's Note]**  
Well, thanks to everyone for sharing your thoughts on what you think is going to happen in this chapter. You all had good guesses, but I'm glad none of you actually managed to predict where I was going to take the story next (I still got it, hehe). After a lot of contemplating, I'll have to say the closest one to guessing right was yeti1995. Congratulations, I'll see you in the blooper reel!

There's also another thought that's entered my mind these last few days. For this entire series, I've been reminding everyone to submit feedback at every given opportunity, and now that I've racked up all the reviews I've gotten from book 1 till now, that's more than 500 reviews! Wow, I just cannot express how great you all are for sharing your thoughts with me (yes, even the ones that don't really post constructive criticism because at least you read it :P), and I think it's about time I offered something in return. Something more than just updating chapters faster with each checkpoint I set, I mean. So, for those of you with Lion King stories of your own, listen up because this is addressed especially to you.

At this point, my plans for the final installment of the series, _Kopa's Legacy: The Eye of the Tempest_, is still fairly flexible. And for those of you wondering who the Keepers are, all I can say for now is that I'll be working with more species than just lions in book 5. There hasn't yet been a confirmed number of chapters, but the length of the story will be roughly twice as long as book 2, book 3, or book 4 (so, likely going to be around 18 to 20 chapters). So, with such a lengthy plot and plenty of room to fill up, I thought I'd show my appreciation to you, the reviewers and the fellow writers. In short, I want your characters in the conclusion to my beloved _Kopa's Legacy_ series, and if that's what you want too, here's how I'm going to decide who to pick.

What I'm proposing is a lottery system. At the moment, I've got three character slots open, two for minor roles and one for a more major role. I'm going to draw two random numbers between 50 and 100, and one number between 101 and 150, out of a hat, and the selected numbers will be my winners. For example, if I draw out 58 and 87, whoever wrote reviews #58 and #87 will each get to insert a character into book 5 with a minor role. If I draw out 117, reviewer #117 gets the character with the major role. Easy enough?

Of course, the more reviews you post, the more likely you are to have your number drawn. But I do have a few conditions to list out. Firstly, please make your reviews thoughtful if you can't make them constructive. That means I'd like to know what your thoughts are on the chapter, even if you have no criticism to give. Please don't just post reviews that are of no help to me. Secondly, if you have no Lion King characters and your number is drawn, you can either use another author's character (but make sure you ask first!), or you can give your win to someone else. Thirdly, guest reviewers, unfortunately, are not eligible for this lottery. So if a guest reviewer's number is drawn, I will simply redraw. And lastly, there may be restrictions on what characters you can and can't use. For example, Asante's character of the same name, the third child of Simba and Nala, cannot fit into the storyline I have planned for book 5 (if you read this, 'sante, I hope you don't mind me using you as an example). The best thing to do if you win is to message me privately with the character you have in mind of submitting, and I'll let you know whether or not it will work. Worst-case scenario, if you have no eligible characters, you can always create a new one.

Well, now that I've put that up there, I hope you like this idea and accept it as a thank-you for your continued support. I'm sure that was a lot to read, so onto the next chapter it is!

* * *

This time, Afua felt as if the advantage was theirs. Even though his team of five had already split off from the other teams, he felt as if he could sense their progress, trickling into Mount Tempest, cleansing it of the enemy presence inside. They were the predators. Unstoppable.

He had led his team past several water channels, but there was no trace yet of the contaminants' poisonous odour. Still, he knew that it would only be a matter of time before one of the teams came across Janga's remaining lions.

Afua couldn't help but marvel at how perfectly the plan would work. The swamp lilies' poison left no detectable colour in the water, and it gave off no taste or scent until it was being breathed out. By then, their sense of smell would be too dull to be able to pick up the poison or the scents of the assault teams closing in on them. And there couldn't be more than a score left of the enemy lions, most of whom were likely weakened by the poison. Now the only hard part was to find them.

"Looks like some of them were here earlier," said Kafiri, stopping at a junction where the passageways branched off in three directions. She swept some strands of fur on the stone floor with her paw, bending down to examine them.

Afua padded over and took a closer look as well, impressed that she had noticed something anyone else would have missed in the dark. "Good eyes, Kafiri." To the others, he said, "Let's split up and check these corridors. Head fifty paces from this junction and meet back here, and if we have a lead we'll decide which way to go."

The team broke off and entered the three passageways, with Kafiri following Afua closely. The two of them walked in silence, listening for the sound of movement, trying to catch the scents they were searching for.

Despite the gravity of the situation, he couldn't help but feel at home right now, and not even the prospect of having to root out and kill an unknown number of enemy lions could stifle that positive feeling. Every part of the corridors they passed through was still so familiar to him, and it gave him an elated, almost blissful feeling that nothing bad could happen here.

"Mount Tempest...it still looks like Mount Tempest," he remarked, a little more relaxed than he should have been.

Kafiri, who was still scanning the floor, glanced at him. "Keep your voice down," she reminded him quietly.

"Sorry," he said, lowering his voice. "I've just been away for so long, and I dunno, I thought I wouldn't recognize this place anymore."

She remained silent for a little while as they continued to head down the passageway. "You know it's been really hard for Malka when he thought you were dead," she said.

He nodded slowly. "Yeah. I..." he trailed off, not wanting to say it.

"You miss your mother," she finished for him, reading his mind.

He sighed. "I just...I wish the last time I saw her, I didn't think so badly of her. I remember Tumaini would always be the one to make her angry, but sometimes I helped...I wish I hadn't."

"You know..." she began before stopping herself. He listened, waiting for her to say what was on her mind. "...I saw Tumaini again when he returned to the pride. He never quite forgave himself for what he did to you. But he's not...wasn't like that anymore."

"That's what everyone tells me," he said slowly. "I guess I'll never understand him. Him or Fujo."

Kafiri was about to reply when there were two muffled _boom_s heard not far off. The floor trembled, and the burned-out pieces of wood in the nearby fire pits clattered and splintered from the force of the exertion. After a slight moment of silence, there came the rushing sound of water flooding past them somewhere above. "That doesn't sound good," she said quietly.

Afua broke into a run. "Someone just set off one of the traps! Come on, we'd better check it out!"

※※※

"I told you he went down the other tunnel," Jeraha grumbled. "We've lost his trail completely."

"You put all our lives at risk to find the survivors, not track down Kopa," Kivuli snapped. "So let's do it quickly and leave."

He grunted but didn't say anything more, noticing how uncharacteristically nervous she was. Her eyes were constantly alert and darting from one spot to another, as if there could be something sinister lurking in the tunnels they were passing through. He didn't particularly like how vulnerable they were either, but he was determined not to leave even a single surviving member of the pride behind and managed to put aside his apprehension.

Sajin, one of the more experienced members of the pride that was not quite old enough to allow his age to slow him down, began sniffing the air. His expression was ill at ease. "That doesn't make sense, how..." He trailed off, turning and walking towards one of the numerous passageways that branched out before them. Jeraha and Kivuli exchanged glances; both of them knew from experience that Sajin's instincts were seldom to be wrong. The team followed in silence, entering the passageway one by one.

Jeraha was the next to notice it. The scent of blood became apparent very quickly the way it was contained in the tunnel. And that wasn't all. There was a malodorous decaying smell in the air, which was unusual since any lions that died would have been preserved by Mount Tempest's cooler environment and couldn't have decomposed so quickly to create such a powerful scent. The others quickly noticed it as well, and as the team approached the end of the passageway, it only became more apparent. And as soon as they stepped into the waiting chamber, their gazes were all drawn to the same thing.

It was a gruesome sight. Two lions were sprawled dead on the stony floor, with clumps of fur scattered all around their corpses. Both of them had been ripped open and most of the flesh was missing from their bones. Their decaying organs .aying inside the skeleton was the obvious source of the stench, deflated and oozing half-dried fluids.

"They're ours, alright," Jeraha said quietly, recognizing the mostly intact faces. "Maiti and Masao."

Kivuli was examining their carcasses closely, though it was clear that she found the task distasteful. "These cuts are recent. But it looks like they've been dead for a while now. Why..."

"Because the others needed them for food," said Sajin simply. "They've been trapped in here for days, presumably they've been wandering through Mount Tempest too, trying to find a way out. Eventually they had to eat the ones that died first."

"Janga? Is that you?"

Every head turned towards the sound of the young voice. From the shadows in the chamber, a large group of lions stepped out from the various crevices circling them. Each one of them was a familiar face, although their eyes were dull and their expressions gaunt. Their bodies were showing signs of hunger and lack of sleep, and they all moved with a slight sluggishness, as if the fight had gone out of them.

Jeraha noticed that every single one of them was looking for their leader, and he said, "Janga has left to find help. But she's not going to leave us behind." He counted how many of them there were. Sixteen. "Is this all of you?"

Kiza, the young lion who had spoken before, nodded slowly. "It took us days to all find each other. We came across some of the others too...after their bodies were left where they died. The two prides are sending in teams to kill us. We have to leave now!" His voice tightened and threatened to crack, and it was clear that he was nearing his breaking point.

"That's why we're here," said Kivuli. "Come on, follow us. We're getting you all out of this place."

The ragtag group, now reunited with their pride, followed Jeraha and Kivuli out of the chamber, weary but now strengthened by the prospect of freedom. There wasn't a single word spoken between them, as they were well aware that they weren't out of danger yet. _Still, I'd like to meet those teams being sent in now. They'll be in for an unpleasant surprise if they try to stop us_.

※※※

Afua already had a feeling as to what was happening as he sprinted through the corridors with Kafiri. His mind was racing through his memory of Mount Tempest's interior to make sure he was going the right way, the mental map struggling to keep up with his speed. Although he had never witnessed in action the traps Malka had set up inside the stronghold, his father had told him about where every single one of them were, what they did, and how to avoid triggering them. And every assault team that had been sent in had at least one lion who knew about all of them, which meant that either one of them had accidentally sprung a trap and they were in trouble, or Jeraha and Kivuli had made it inside Mount Tempest at last.

He shuddered as he recalled the effects of the traps described to him by Malka. Every one of them had an effective but brutal way of killing those who triggered them, and they were practically inescapable from the inside. Whoever it was that had been unfortunate enough to be caught in one of them, he had to find out what happened. And from the sound of the water racing against him above his head, he already guessed which trap had been set in motion.

Afua turned the corner, and just as he suspected, there was a massive flat boulder before him, carved by claw to effectively block off the passageway. There would be a second boulder on the other side, both of which had dropped down when the trap was triggered. Judging from the sound of water rushing towards the holes in the ceiling that had been keeping the boulders suspended above the passageway, whoever was inside was about to die a very unpleasant death very soon.

Kafiri had caught up, and she looked up and down the solid wall of stone as she approached it. Afua took a deep breath and yelled as loud as he could, "Who's in there?"

Even if the trap held an enemy, he guessed that their situation would be terrifying enough to compel them to answer, in hopes that there was a chance for them to survive.

"Help me! Afua, it's me! Help!"

Afua felt his insides turn to ice.

The voice...it belonged to Kopa. _This can't be happening. How is this...? What do I do?_ He shook his head, trying to stay calm even though the panic was threatening to overwhelm him. "Listen to me, Kopa! You have to tread water for as long as you can! I'll get you out! I promise!"

"Hurry! I can't swim!"

Afua remembered the day Zira had pushed Kopa into the river when they were cubs, and he felt a strange calmness take hold of him. He was not going to lose his friend again.

The water was still coming down, and it sounded like it was now higher than his head level. Streams of the water were trickling out from cracks between the walls and the boulder, but it was insignificant compared to the torrent that was coming down on the other side of the stone. Kopa would be able to stay at the top of the water for a while, but he had nothing to grab onto in there and he would eventually run out of energy.

Afua was scanning every bit of the boulder, trying to find a weak point, or something that could break it. He could hear Kopa gasping and coughing out water as it continued to rush down mercilessly on him. Afua fought the compulsion to give in to frustration, glaring at the indifferent rock face as it it was mocking him. Kopa was just on the other side, and he couldn't get to him. Afua didn't want to imagine the sounds his friend would make as he drowned.

"What's going on?"

Afua turned around to see not only the other three lions on his team, but also Vitani's and Chumvi's teams. Relieved that they were here even though he still had no idea what to do, he said, "Kopa got caught in one of the traps! We have to get him out!"

"What's Kopa doing here?" Vitani asked in disbelief.

"We don't have time!" Afua exclaimed. "We have to figure out a way to break through this rock!"

The lions immediately broke out into a hubbub, talking over themselves and trying to be heard over the others. Afua stood there tensely, trying not to listen to Kopa's frantic breathing, which was coming from above him and was now almost inaudible. The water level was getting higher. And all the while, the others didn't seem to be any closer to finding a solution. _We're running out of time!_

"Alright, that's enough!" Chumvi shouted, causing everyone to go silent immediately. He looked around them all, looking deep in thought. "Afua, we'll never be able to break the rock, not with our bare paws. But what if we pull it down? There's enough of us to do it, and that way the water can flood into the passageway, and we can get Kopa out."

Afua directed his gaze at the way the boulder was set against the wall in the ceiling's hole. "The rock is being held in place, it's set too high to be pulled this way. But..." His heart raced with urgency as the solution came to him. "We might be able to push it in, and let the water flood out from underneath instead."

"It'll be harder to push against the water," Chumvi observed, but Vitani cut in.

"Let's do it," she said shortly. "Everyone, form lines of five. This should be simple enough, so don't dawdle or start talking. We're wasting time here!"

As if spurred on by her words, the teams all rearranged themselves into formation, with the strongest lions putting their paws against the rock, and the ones behind pushing them. Everyone strained and groaned, pushing as hard as they could, their back paws skidding against the floor as they fought to maintain purchase.

At first, there was no indication that their efforts were getting anywhere. Afua listened as hard as he could for some sound from Kopa, but all he heard was the continued flood of water, which was now so high into the ceiling he could hardly hear it anymore. He could almost feel the weight of all the water pressing against the boulder, fighting against his own strength as he put every bit of might he had into moving it. _Don't be dead. Please don't be dead...just hang on a little longer..._

And then the stone shifted by just a fraction. A jet of water sprayed out from the small opening that was created, spraying loudly against the nearby wall and narrowly missing Vitani's face. The massive pool of water immediately followed the path of least resistance, the force of its release pushing aside the boulder with tenfold more power than the lions propped up against it. Every one of them was thrown back as the flat rock toppled over and fell onto the floor with a loud _splash_. The passageway was flooded instantly, although the water flowed along the floor and didn't go up past their paws.

Vitani was the first to stand back up, shaking water out of her eyes but otherwise not even bothering to dry herself as she dashed towards Kopa's shuddering form. He was lying sprawled against the boulder, his paws twitching and his eyes squeezed tightly shut. As Afua slowly got up to check on him, he could hear Kopa muttering to himself. "No...please, don't...water...let me out...I can't...I don't want to..."

Vitani slowly took his head in her paws, pressing his face against her chest. "Hey, it's alright. You're okay now," she said, in the most gentle voice Afua had ever heard her use. Kopa didn't seem to notice, and kept shivering, his breathing coming out in shaky gasps.

"We'd better get out of here," said Kafiri. Afua's attention was drawn back to the others, now that they were out of danger, and he just remembered why they were here in the first place.

"We haven't found any of Janga's lions yet," said Chumvi. "But maybe the other teams have had better luck."

"This water isn't poisoned, is it?" Vitani asked anxiously.

Afua's stomach lurched. He hadn't thought of that. He quickly ran the map of the water network over in his head. "No," he said. "I didn't set the contaminants in every single channel. The water here was supposed to be diverted to one of the clean streams outside the mountain. We should be fine—"

Kopa's eyes snapped open, and as soon as he saw Vitani, he pushed himself away with a cry of fear. "Get away...get away from me! My father will...he won't let you...you...Zira..." Having spent the last reserve of his energy, he went limp, slipping into unconsciousness.

Afua carefully slid his paws under Kopa, finding himself carrying his friend for the second time in as many days. "He's delusional. We'd better get him out of here. Get up, Vitani...Vitani?"

Vitani hadn't moved at all, and her expression was full of shock and hurt. "He just...he thought I was..."

"He doesn't know what he's saying," Afua said immediately. "Come on, let's get him out of here."

She just sat there, her head lowered as the water continued to flow steadily down on them, causing ripples in the reflection she was staring at. There was guilt creeping into her face, making her completely unrecognizable from her usual stoic self. "He knows...I always knew it...he knows what I did..."

Afua didn't know what she was talking about, and was about to persuade her again to get up, when the opposite boulder fell over and crashed to the floor. Everyone jumped in surprise at the sudden calamity. He looked up, and he saw them.

Jeraha and Kivuli, standing at the head of a group of lions. Afua knew immediately that some of the more ravaged ones were the ones that had been trapped inside Mount Tempest. Even in the small passageway, he could see that they outnumbered the assault teams by almost two to one. And they looked none too merciful.

Jeraha grinned. And Afua had no doubts as to what he was thinking. The young prince spun around to face the others, who were still frozen with surprise. "RUN!"

His voice broke the spell. The others snapped out of it, turning tail and splashing down the passageway as quickly as their paws could carry them. Some of them were so frantic that they bumped into each other, others slipped and fell in the water-filled tunnel. The enemy lions were relentless, pouncing on anyone that fell behind and tearing them apart in groups.

Afua had every instinct to stop and help the ones trailing behind, but he knew that if he did, he would only get himself and Kopa killed. He quickly checked to make sure Vitani was with them, and surely enough, she was now running alongside him, her expression blank and focusing only on keeping up the pace.

They made it out of the passageways and into a large chamber containing several water pools near the walls. Afua faltered as he saw the others breaking off into every direction, disappearing down different passageways. The hesitation turned out to be a mistake; he felt a paw grab his tail, causing him to lose his balance. He tumbled to the ground, and Kopa rolled off him.

Kafiri, who immediately noticed Afua had fallen behind, turned and charged towards him. At the same time, Vitani quickly ran over and swept Kopa up herself. Afua felt the paw let go of his tail, followed by a nasty _crunch_. He stood, turning to face his attacker. It was Jeraha, who was standing alone now that the rest of his pride had taken off after the others. And the prince was paralyzed by what he saw.

Kafiri lay limp at Jeraha's paws, the back of her neck broken and bloody. The burly lion bared his teeth, which were also covered in blood—her blood.

Afua didn't know what he was doing. One moment he was staring down Jeraha, the next, he felt himself collide with the other lion, and then they were grappling in one of the water pools. He roared at Jeraha, wrapping his paw around his opponent's neck and forcing his head under the water. The larger lion sucked in a mouthful of water and thrashed, striking at him blindly. Afua felt one set of claws rip open his shoulder, the other leave gashes in his chin, but he didn't care. He held down Jeraha with all his might, willing for him to suffocate.

He suddenly felt a paw pull him away, and still he fought to get back to the one who had killed Kafiri, to finish him off. Then he realized that Vitani was shouting at him. "It's too late! We have to go, now!"

Afua looked around and realized that some of Janga's lions were appearing from the passageways, moving to close in on them. But they still had a way out; back the way they had come. He gave Vitani a quick nod. "Go. I'll be right behind you."

He made for Kafiri's body, directing the enemy lions' attention to him. Vitani began running, disappearing into the passageway. Afua swiftly placed his deceased friend onto his back, noticing that Jeraha was already recovering and would soon rally the others in the chamber. Without hesitation, the prince bolted after Vitani, hoping she was as fast a runner as everyone said she was.

※※※

Jeraha coughed water onto the floor as Kivuli helped him out of the pool. He wiped some of it out of his slightly smarting eyes, noticing that the chamber was now filled with just about the entire pride. "We need to go after them," he sputtered, spitting out more water.

Kivuli shook her head. "No, let them go. I called off the chase because the other teams lurking in here will find us if we run all over the place. Our task here is done, it's time to be gone."

Jeraha shook his fur out, deciding for once not to argue. "How many of theirs did we get?"

"Including that lioness you just killed? Eight."

_That's good enough for now,_ he thought, wiping his paws dry and leading the strengthened pride out of the chamber. _And more importantly, we've finally shown the two prides that they can't defeat us so easily._

※※※

"...and Zazu didn't like that at all," Simba recalled. "He got really annoyed with us, and he said 'If this is where the monarchy is headed, count me out!'" He chuckled softly at the memory.

Kiara laughed, imagining the majordomo saying the words in his usual affronted tone. "And what'd you and mom do then?"

Her father grinned. "We just kept making him follow us around, trying not to lose sight of us. We rallied up every animal we came across in the kingdom, and they agreed to join us. Everyone in the Pridelands knew Zazu was a bit on the standoffish side and we all had fun messing with him."

The two of them continued talking as they walked around the perimetre of Mount Tempest. Simba's recovery was getting better day by day, and it wouldn't be long before he would be able to return to his normal duties. This time, Kiara accompanied him on his walk, and although she missed Zazu dearly, she knew that her father's reminiscing was helping to ease the feeling of loss they felt.

"Did you show Kopa how to pounce on Zazu, like grandfather showed you?" she asked, as they reached the windward side of Mount Tempest, walking along one of the streams trailing out of it and leading into the mountain range before them.

"I didn't need to," Simba replied with a smile. "Whenever Zazu was stuck babysitting your brother, he'd end up playing the same game with him all the time."

Kiara had a good guess as to what game that was. And the amusement in her father's voice told her that he had been feigning ignorance to how Kopa spent his time relieving boredom with the majordomo.

She stopped when she saw the boulder lying in the stream. "Daddy..."

Simba's relaxed stance became alert when he noticed it too. He turned his gaze to Mount Tempest, and he saw the back entrance, which was lying wide open. "That's not good. I'd better go tell Malka and close off the entrance—" He moved fast, wrapping one paw around Kiara and sending them both tumbling into the tall grass. She gave a muffled cry of surprise but her father's paw was placed over her mouth. "Stay very still," he whispered.

A moment later it became apparent what he had noticed. A mass of lions were marching out of the back entrance, led by Jeraha and Kivuli. Some of them were wafting a heavy scent of blood, and Kiara had a very bad feeling as to what had happened in there. There was nearly a score and a half of them in total.

Suddenly, Kivuli held up a paw, motioning for everyone to stop moving. She sniffed the air, looking around very carefully. She turned to Jeraha and said something. Kiara couldn't make out the words, but then the lions began to spread out, some ducking into the grass, looking like they were in no particular hurry to leave.

"They've picked up our scent," Simba whispered. "Kiara, listen to me. Stay here, and don't make a sound. I'm going around to alert the pride and we'll chase them off."

"I should be the one to go," she protested quietly. "You can't exert yourself yet. And you're the king, if they catch you—"

His face became stern. "No, Kiara. You're not putting yourself in danger for me. I forbid you."

"But daddy—"

"That's final." Without waiting for a response, Simba slinked off silently and disappeared into the grass. Kiara just laid where she was, listening for the sound of the enemy lions and wondering what to do next.

Once Simba put enough distance between himself and Kiara, he leaped out of the grass, dashing up the plateau and towards Mount Tempest as fast as he could. His scarred and still-recovering leg muscles screamed in protest as he pushed himself to his limit, and he could already feel his stamina flagging and threatening to keel him over. No matter, he would protect his daughter or die trying.

Kiara watched fearfully as the enemy lions spotted Simba and began chasing after him. It didn't take long for her to see that he was faltering. And it was still such a long run for him to make it to the other side of Mount Tempest. _He'll never make it,_ she thought despairingly. _They'll pin him and then they'll kill him_.

_No,_ defied her tougher side, with an iron will she must have picked up from Kovu at some point. _I will not allow this to happen. I've lost my grandmother, I've lost my own cub...I can't lose my father too_. She got up, and sprinted through the grass with no effort to hide her movements. Her ears picked up the sound of the closest enemy lions shifting their attention to her, although there were still many that were intent on catching Simba. She ran even faster, determined to intercept them.

Kiara cleared the grass, and now unhindered, dashed at her top speed, keeping her focus on the lions in front of her. She recognized one of them as Jeraha as he turned around, looking surprised that she was actually aiming herself at him. As the four lions with him continued after Simba, she moved to give chase, but found herself blocked by Jeraha.

"Very courageous of you, princess," he jeered. "So your father was trying to get us away from you. You should've stayed where you were."

As he spoke, Kiara became aware that the lions chasing her had formed a circle around her. She unsheathed her claws and bared her teeth at Jeraha. "Let me pass."

"Or what?" he growled. "Don't you know that trying to save lives will leave you with nothing?"

The remark stung, more than it should have. She thought of her cub, and everything she had tried to do to save it. Her gaze shifted to the other lions before returning to him. "You saved all of them."

He shrugged. "I can trust them. Unlike your worthless mother, who betrayed me after I nearly died for her."

"That's not true!" she cried, momentarily more indignant than she was afraid for her own life.

Jeraha's eyes were hard. "She won't remember it, but I know what she did. Even after we escaped the Pridelands, she came after us. She would have delivered us all to Scar if we didn't try to silence her. A shame she survived..."

Kiara tried to stand her ground, but the words he spoke were cutting into her. "I don't believe you!"

"I don't need you to," he said, walking towards her slowly. "What one dead lioness believes is of no matter to me."

Kiara didn't wait for him to strike. She leaped at him, sinking her claws into the side of his neck. He roared, but before she could deal further injury, he headbutted her, knocking her hard to the ground. He watched as the other lions leaped on her, attacking her without remorse. She cried out in pain as their claws and teeth slashed and stabbed at her, trying to escape them but she couldn't. She swung at them with her claws, but her attacks were feeble and she was easily overpowered. The rocky ground beneath her began to become saturated with her blood and clumps of her fur. Her movements became weaker and weaker, although she kept trying to no avail.

Out of the corner of his eye, Jeraha saw the four lions that had been chasing Simba appearing around the mountain bend. They were running as fast as they could and looked rather terrified.

And then Simba appeared on their tails, with what looked like the entirety of the two prides behind him. He showed no signs of the failing strength he had displayed earlier, and was speeding at them with an almighty fury.

Jeraha gritted his teeth and turned his attention back to the lions attacking Kiara. "We have to go, now. Leave her to die."

The others saw the incoming forces of the two prides, and immediately broke off, dashing towards the grasslands. Jeraha made sure none of them were left behind before he brought up the rear. Looking over his shoulder, he saw Simba and a few others stop over Kiara's prone form, but the rest were still keeping up the chase.

Still, it quickly became obvious that the two prides could not keep up with their speed. As Jeraha regrouped with Kivuli and the others in the grasslands and left Mount Tempest behind them, he couldn't help but smirk triumphantly. _I might not have gotten Simba this time, but he'll suffer all the same when he sees what I've done to his precious daughter._

※※※

Simba was horrified to see the extent of Kiara's injuries. Her entire body was covered in vicious cuts, and her fur was splattered with blood. He felt his heart pounding with fear, and wanted to do something, _anything_, to take away her pain.

"Please be alright, Kiara," he whimpered, the tears in his eyes threatening to spill. He had never seen her so badly injured before, and the sight of it hurt him to see. He nudged his face against hers, hoping she would be reassured knowing that he was there, but he didn't dare make more contact for fear of worsening her wounds. _I'm sorry. I wasn't fast enough. Please, Kiara...don't die._

Mateka was checking over Kiara in grim silence. After a stretch of silence that felt like it went on forever, she finally said, "She's going to be alright. Her wounds are mostly very shallow."

"Let's take her back to Mount Tempest, quickly," said Malka. He stared off at the retreating enemy pride, and turned to Simba, looking confused. "What happened? How did they get here? How did they get _inside?_"

Everyone turned their heads as Afua and Vitani walked out of Mount Tempest's still-open entrance, carrying Kafiri's body and the still-unconscious Kopa. Simba could see his own trepidation reflected in their faces when they saw Kiara's bloodied form being carried away. And then he felt the betrayal stab into his heart. He couldn't look away, because he already knew why it had happened. It was something that had become painfully more obvious to him with each passing day.

_Oh, Kopa...how could you?_

* * *

**[Author's Note]**  
It looks like Kopa is really in for it this time. I would not want to be him when I wake up. Sleep away, my troubled prince. In the next chapter, things are going to get very messy for you. (Am I talking to my imaginary characters now? First sign of insanity?)**  
**

* * *

**[Original Character Names]  
Fujo:** Aggressive  
**Sajin:** Sergeant  
**Maiti:** Dead  
**Masao:** Corpse  
**Kiza:** Darkness


	9. Mea Kopa

**[Author's Note]**  
For those of you who don't understand the chapter name, it's a play on words of the Latin phrase "mea culpa", which means "I'm sorry" or "my fault". And once you read the chapter, you'll know exactly why I named it that. But first, my poor protagonist is going to wake up and get some sense knocked into him. Is he done messing up yet? Read on and see...

* * *

Kopa awoke to see a pair of furious green eyes glaring at him. He blinked, not comprehending in his still-awakening state. He was about to say something, when he felt a paw strike him hard across the face, waking him up effectively.

"Get up!" barked Kovu's voice in his ear. "Get up and explain yourself, you—you stupid—" He sounded so pent up that he couldn't even find the words to finish his sentence.

Kopa got to his paws slowly, his face smarting where Kovu had hit him. He looked around and realized that he wasn't outside Mount Tempest, but inside one of its chambers. "Why are we in here? What did I do?"

"What _didn't_ you do?" Kovu snarled. Kopa had never seen him this angry before, and he struggled to remember what had happened before he ended up here. His mind, however, was still trying to catch up.

"I...I opened the back entrance. It was an accident—"

"You ran into Mount Tempest even though you were told to stay behind!" Kovu yelled, advancing towards him. Kopa couldn't figure out what was making him so furious, but whatever it was, it made Kopa afraid of him for the first time. The dark-furred male lowered his voice, which only made him sound more dangerous. "_You_ let the enemy pride into the mountain. And we couldn't find a single one of them because they've all escaped."

"They're gone?" Kopa asked blearily, his mind still unable to recall what had happened.

"Not before they killed eight members of our assault teams," Kovu spat.

Kopa's limbs felt a bit shaky, but he began walking towards the exit. "Where's my father?"

Kovu extended one foreleg, stopping him from going any further. "Your father wants you to stay here," he said sharply.

Kopa should have picked up the warning tone in his voice, but he didn't. "Why?" he demanded indignantly. "I have to talk to him—"

Kovu shoved him, hard onto the ground. "Because Kiara is lying out cold with enough injuries to keep her from walking for the next moon cycle, you _degenerate_ of a prince! Simba is refusing to leave her side until she's better! Do you have any idea how ashamed of you he is right now?"

"Kiara's hurt?" Kopa whispered, shocked. "How bad is it? How did they get her?" He tried standing up, but Kovu pushed him back down again none too gently.

"Don't you go near her," he hissed. "I warned you, Kopa. I warned you that what you were doing would hurt the ones you care about. I covered for you when you started putting their lives in danger. I trusted you when you said you'd start being responsible! Well, I'm done with this. You keep yourself in line from now on, do you hear me? Stop thinking it's all about you, because it's not. The people you care about are the ones I care about, and if anything happens to them because of you, I will _never_ forgive you. Do you understand?"

Kopa stared back at Kovu, seeing the ferocity in the other male's eyes. "Yes, I understand. Follow me around if you want, but I have to see Kiara."

"You're not leaving this chamber," Kovu snapped.

"I'm her brother!" Kopa yelled.

"You have a funny way of showing it!"

Kopa sprang to his paws with a roar and made a wild swing at Kovu's face. Kovu ducked, but a moment later Kopa's other paw caught him in the foreleg, knocking him off-balance. But instead of falling over, Kovu pulled Kopa towards him and back-pawed him across the face. Enraged, Kopa unsheathed his claws and slashed at Kovu's exposed torso, tearing strands of fur flying from his chest and drawing blood. Kovu flinched slightly, but clenched one paw and punched Kopa hard under the shoulder joint, numbing his entire foreleg. Kopa cried out in pain and surprise, and tried to move on his useless foreleg, but Kovu had already closed in on his vulnerable side and headbutted him where his ribs met his flank. Kopa crumpled to the ground, the wind knocked out of him.

Kovu held him down firmly, blood dripping from his heaving chest. "That's enough," he growled at Kopa, who was glaring back at him defiantly. "Get a hold of yourself."

"What's going on in here?"

Both males turned their heads as Vitani ran in, having heard the commotion. "Kovu, what are you doing? You're supposed to be watching him."

"I told him not to leave," Kovu snapped. Vitani looked from him to Kopa, and then to the claw marks on her brother's chest.

"You're hurt," she said. "Go see Mateka and get fixed up."

Kovu turned back to stare down at Kopa, who he was still pinning to the floor. Vitani grunted impatiently. "I'll keep an eye on him. Go."

Kovu let go of Kopa with a noncommittal exasperated noise. He promptly turned around, walking past her and out of the chamber. She didn't move at all as she watched Kopa stand up awkwardly, still trying to regain feeling in his numbed foreleg. She let out a long breath that sounded like a half-groan. "Kopa, what's the matter with you? This isn't like you at all."

"I'm sorry," he mumbled. "Everything's confusing enough without Kovu jumping down my throat all the time."

"Oh, will you stop making excuses and take responsibility for once!" she snapped, her patience having come to an end. "Look at yourself, Kopa. I don't know what you're doing, and I don't think you know what you're doing either. But wake up. You're in a pride now. We're supposed to look out for each other. In case you hadn't noticed, that's what everyone's been doing for you. Except you keep acting like it means nothing to you, so all that ends up happening is that someone has to get hurt for you." Seeing the stubbornness in Kopa's face, Vitani sighed. "Come on. We're going for a walk."

"But what about Kovu?" he asked, surprised.

"He doesn't need to know," she pointed out. "And you need to clear your head. Come on." She turned back to the exit and walked out of the chamber. Kopa stared after her for a moment before following.

※※※

Malka stared down sadly at Kafiri's body as Afua and Siri laid it before him. "How did it happen?" the pride king asked softly, gently closing the dead lioness' eyes.

"She tried to save me," Afua murmured, recalling the moment with a painful vividness. "Jeraha would have had me if she didn't put herself between us."

"Then I'm indebted to her," Malka sighed. "Though there's nothing I can do to repay her enough for her bravery." His gaze remained on Kafiri, and there was a faraway look in his eyes as if he was thinking about something. When he raised his head and finally looked at Afua, he said, "You know, a long time ago I was going to have her betrothed to Tumaini. They were good friends and I thought she would've done well to keep his headstrong nature in check. I still considered it a possibility when your brother returned to the pride, but after he died, I..." He blinked, clearing his throat and fixing his gaze on his son. "I know she was much older than you, but I thought I might pass the betrothal onto you."

Afua looked away and back to Kafiri's carefree face. "You never told me that."

"I was going to ask you when this was all over," Malka said. "But now I think it's better if you decide for yourself."

The prince jerked his head up in surprise. _Now?_

"You don't have to make up your mind yet," his father said, noticing the look on his face. "But just something for you to consider, now that we've finally taken back Mount Tempest. And if the recent events have reminded me of anything, it's that any of us including myself can die for a number of reasons. And if that comes to pass, I want to know first that you have someone in mind to help you inherit my title—"

"I've already decided," said Afua abruptly, now that Malka's words had sunk in. Slowly, he turned his head towards Siri. She stared back at him blankly for a moment, before the shock became etched into her face.

"Me?" she whispered. Malka also turned to look at her, and his mouth tightened, although his expression remained unreadable.

"I can't think of anyone else that comes even close," Afua said. "I've only known you for a while, Siri, but the others in the pride I already know. And you're just so...so different, and—"

"No," she blurted, her mouth twitching. She was blinking very rapidly and she looked confused more than anything. "I really like you, Afua. But—I can't. I just can't."

Afua looked rather hurt. "Why?" he breathed, still looking her in the eyes.

But Siri found herself unable to answer. She was shaking her head faintly and was backing away. Then she turned and dashed out of Malka's quarters, disappearing around the exit.

Malka turned his head to Afua, who was still staring at where she stood a moment before. He realized that his son had no idea that Tumaini had harboured the very same feelings for Siri. "Afua, look at me. It's alright."

Afua turned to look at his father, his ears drooping and his posture dispirited. "Why is she afraid of me? Every day we would talk, and...she'd look so...happy. I thought..."

"Afua, it's not your fault," Malka said gently. "But you should know something. Before you returned to the pride...Siri was in love with your brother."

His son stiffened. His dejection instantly transformed into disbelief. "She...she was?"

"Yes, and that's why she is so conflicted. I think she sees a little too much of your brother in you, which is why she always seeks your company. Of course, she feels very guilty about it and tries to fight how she feels."

"So she doesn't love me?" Afua asked quietly.

"I can't say. That's up to her to decide. But even if she does, she would think that to accept those feelings would be a betrayal to Tumaini. What you need to do is give her time. Now that she knows that you have feelings for her, she will try to figure this out for herself. Let her see that you respect her need for space, and she'll come to you."

The prince still looked rather troubled. "You...don't think it's wrong for me to have these feelings, do you, father?"

"Only if you intended for Siri to forget about Tumaini," said Malka. "Which I can see that you don't. Go on, son. You need time to reflect on it as well, and I have to pay my final respects to Kafiri."

Afua nodded, slowly walking towards the exit. He heard his father sigh as he left the chamber and headed out towards the lower levels.

※※※

After a long walk around the outside of Mount Tempest, Vitani was relieved to see that Kopa had returned to his usual level-headed self. As the afternoon faded into evening, they had spent the whole time talking about the memories they shared as cubs, or she would tell him funny stories she recalled in the Outlands, most of which involved Nuka and termites, or the numerous adventures she had with Kovu that had gotten them both into trouble. Kopa gradually eased out of his ornery sulking and began telling her about the mishaps him and Tumaini had in the forest.

He had just finished telling one of the stories when he suddenly sighed and looked glum again. "Everyone hates me now, huh."

"No," said Vitani immediately, though even she could tell that she didn't sound very convincing.

"Yeah, they do," he said. "But thanks for...well, being here, I should apologize to Kovu when I see him. And my father, when he wants to see me. And Kiara once she's better. And—"

"Kopa, you know I understand completely, right?" she asked, cutting short his self-conscious blustering. "I can tell things are difficult for you right now, but I know you've got a good heart. I'll take your side no matter what. You just need to...keep yourself in check."

He nodded. "Yeah. Thanks."

She grinned and clipped him playfully on the ear with one paw. "Of course, that doesn't mean I won't let you know when you're being a complete idiot. Like when you decided to start a fight with Kovu, for example."

"I could take him," said Kopa, half-jokingly and half-defensively.

"Are you kidding?" she laughed. "If he wanted to, he could've torn you to shreds."

The two of them were walking back to one of Mount Tempest's entrances and were about to enter when Mateka stepped out. There was something accusatory in the look she shot Vitani. "What's Kopa doing outside?"

"I thought I'd take him for a walk," Vitani said, unphased by the glare she was giving him.

"Simba said specifically for Kopa to be kept under watch," Mateka reminded her sharply.

Vitani noticed the edge in her voice. "And I'm watching him. He just needed to clear his head, that's all."

"Did you tell someone first that you were taking him outside?" Mateka asked rather challengingly.

Kopa stepped forward. "Hey, you don't have to talk about me like I'm not here. What's the problem, Mateka?"

"The problem is that you're not acting like yourself lately," she snapped. "And I know it's because of _her_."

"Me?" Vitani said, surprised and a bit offended.

"Mateka, that's not fair," Kopa interjected, stepping between the two lionesses. "I haven't been myself, but it's my own fault, alright? Come on, Mateka, you don't have to be like this. We're all friends here, and Tani's actually helping me from doing anything stupid—"

"Oh, you call her Tani, huh?"

"Everyone calls her Tani," Kopa responded, with a horrible feeling that he knew where this was going. "_You_ call her Tani."

Mateka ignored him, glaring over his shoulders and at Vitani. "Friends? Who are you trying to kid? I see the way she looks at you—"

"How do I look at him?" Vitani snapped, moving around Kopa and returning her glare angrily. "What is this, do we have to fight over who's a better friend to Kopa now?"

"I think that should be obvious, _Outlander_," Mateka retorted, with an emphasis on the cruel jab. Vitani bound forward, her face a hair away from the other lioness'.

"What did you call me?" she growled, her voice dangerously low. Kopa tried to pull her away, but she stood fast and unmoving.

"I don't know how you got him bound to you," Mateka continued, undeterred. "Especially when I can't remember a bit of good you've done for him. I've even kissed him and told him how I felt about him, and still he comes back to you."

Vitani's eyes snapped to Kopa. "You kissed her?"

"I didn't know she was going to do it!" he protested, hoping she could see he was telling the truth. Desperately, he looked at Mateka. "Mateka, don't—"

But she was already walking away, back into Mount Tempest. "Choose her if you want, Kopa. But I'd be very careful if I were you. You could end up nearly getting killed again, like that time she pushed you off the cliff." With that, she entered the tunnel and disappeared.

Kopa felt a wave of shock explode inside him upon hearing these words. He just stood there, frozen. He was dimly aware that Vitani was staring at him, but all his mind would allow him to focus on was a memory—_the_ memory that had always been so fuzzy, but now was crystal clear to him.

_"There will be no heir from Simba's family," Zira snarled. "First I'll deal with you, then the mewling newborn." She advanced on him, slowly, menacingly._

_He had fallen on his back. He had nowhere to go, but nonetheless he tried to back as far up the cliff as he could. Before he could get back on his paws, Zira's paw flew out and stepped hard on his tail. He cried out in pain and struggled to free himself, but to no avail. She raised her other paw, claws ready to tear into him._

_"Kopa!" He heard Simba's voice, not far but not close enough. Kopa would have to try and save himself._

_He forced himself up and leaned forward, unsheathing his claws and stabbing them into Zira's footpaw. She flinched, roaring in pain and letting go of his tail. At the same time, he saw Vitani running straight towards him. Confused, Kopa rolled onto his front and clumsily tried to get up._

_And then she pushed him. Kopa skidded back, and he felt his stomach drop as he plummeted off the side of the cliff. He screamed, unable to contain his terror. The stormy river was coming up towards him, and the next thing he knew, the world became engulfed in icy cold chaos..._

Kopa blinked as the recollection disappeared to give way to reality. He realized that he was staring right at Vitani, who was returning his gaze with a failing composure.

"Tell me you didn't do it," he whispered, although the guilt and anguish on her face already gave him the answer.

But the cold hard truth came, just as he knew it would. "Mateka wasn't lying...I did it," she murmured shamefully.

With those words, Kopa felt his heart turn to stone.

"Kopa, I'm sorry!" Vitani cried, rushing forward and looking straight into his eyes. Her electric blue eyes were beseeching him, but what little sympathy Kopa felt quickly evaporated.

"You never told me," he said quietly.

"I wanted to!" she said pleadingly. "I was afraid because I knew you were going to blame me! I just couldn't—Kopa, I'm so sorry. It was an accident—it was my fault, I know—please, _please_ don't hate me—"

"I spent most of my life without my family because of you," he said, in that same low, cold voice.

"Kopa—"

He couldn't look at her anymore. He tore his gaze away from her face, and without another word, ran off into the grasslands.

"Kopa, come back!" Vitani begged, but he didn't listen and quickly disappeared into the grass. And she wasn't sure she had the heart to follow him. _He's right to hate me,_ she thought miserably, turning around and trudging back into Mount Tempest. Kopa would probably return on his own, but when he did she wouldn't be surprised if he never spoke to her again.

※※※

Kopa had gone quite a ways from Mount Tempest when he finally ran out of breath and slowed his pace. Nonetheless, he kept forcing his way through the grass, not knowing where he was going but not really caring either.

He had never felt so betrayed in his life. _Why did she do it? Was she using me, tricking me into trusting her so Zira could try and kill me?_ The images were still so clear in his mind. How Zira had found him so easily despite all the fog. How he had nearly escaped her, but hesitated a moment too long because he didn't know whether Vitani was still his friend or if she really was responsible for leading Zira to him. How Simba had been so close to reaching him, but Vitani herself pushed Kopa into the river when Zira was unable to kill him.

_Of course she used me. After that, she stayed loyal to Zira for years, didn't she?_ Only when Kiara had begged Simba to make peace with the Outlanders did Vitani change sides. And why wouldn't she? It was her chance to return to the Pridelands. In the end, had she proven to be more devious than Zira, taking the offered paw of forgiveness and turning her back on her own mother?

_And she kept it a secret from me this whole time. How can I trust her?_ The poisonous thoughts only increased Kopa's anger as he stormed through the grasslands. He didn't know what he was going to do, but once he got back he would make sure everyone in the two prides knew what Vitani had done. _Let them decide what to do with her,_ he thought with no small sense of satisfaction. _I've done my time and paid for trusting you, Vitani. Now it's your turn to pay._

"Kopa?"

Kopa gave a start when he saw Afua standing before him in the grass. His friend looked like there was a lot on his mind. _That makes two of us,_ he thought. "What are you doing all the way out here, Afua?"

"I...needed to be alone," Afua said, looking down. "Think some things through."

"What is it?" Kopa asked, wondering why he looked so downcast.

Afua bit his lip, reluctant to say it. "I...I'm in love with Siri," he confessed, the words tumbling out.

"What?" Kopa said slowly, unable to believe his ears.

"But I don't know what to do," Afua continued, not even looking at him. "Father says she loved Tumaini—"

"Yeah, she did," Kopa snapped, suddenly angry again. "Who do you think you are, trying to replace him just because he was your brother?"

Afua was shocked by this reaction. "Kopa, I didn't mean it like that. I just thought I'd tell you since you're my friend—"

"Tumaini was my friend," he growled. "And if you want to keep being my friend, you're going to keep your paws off her."

"I—don't you—I just wanted what was best for her!" Afua said hotly, realizing that Kopa wasn't listening at all. "She's been really lonely and when I talk to her—"

Normally, Kopa would have been more sympathetic, or even understanding of his friend's plight. But his limits had just about been pushed over the edge because of Vitani, and he snarled, "You want what's best for her? Then leave her alone."

"Fine!" Afua roared. "But seeing as you seem to do nothing but revere my brother, I'm going to tell you how _sick_ of him I am! He nearly killed me when I was a cub, and then left me for dead, which I would have been if Simba, your father who you've disappointed more times than I can count, hadn't found me! Then when I finally return to my family, all I hear about is how great he is, but then he dies before he could even look me in the face and own up to what he did to me. And now that I'm trying to find closure with him because he sure didn't leave me any, he's still taking what I want away from me! In case you hadn't noticed, I'm not doing this to get back at my brother, even if I did have every right to! I care about Siri, and she's going to decide what's best for herself! Not you!"

Kopa just glared savagely at Afua, the blood pounding in his ears as the words took hold of him. He wanted so badly to hurt Afua for what he said, to give him a piece of his mind and show him to keep away from Siri. But he wouldn't, no matter how angry he was, if only for Tumaini's sake. Instead, Kopa turned his back on him and headed even further away from Mount Tempest, running off into the darkness while he still had some control over himself.

"And you might want Siri to cry over Tumaini for the rest of her life, bt that's not what she wants!" Afua yelled after him. "She's not like you!" With that scathing final word, he turned and ran in the opposite direction, back towards Mount Tempest.

Not far off from where the two males had been, lying still in the grass, was Siri. She watched as Afua disappeared as well into the grass and sighed. She had never meant for her indecision to cause Afua such turmoil, nor to create a rift between him and Kopa. She hadn't meant to eavesdrop either; she had wanted some time to herself as well when she heard them arguing, and it had been hard not to hear their words.

Siri could have resented the way Afua spoke of his brother, but she had observed first-hand the extent of Tumaini's guilt about what he had done. And no matter how much he had tried to redeem himself, she knew that Afua was right to be bitter. _Would I have loved him if I hadn't met Tumaini? How can I figure out if I really care about him?_

Afua's love for her was sincere, of that she had no doubt. But even then, she didn't dare attach herself too closely to him unless she knew for sure that she had those feelings in return. She could not allow herself that luxury if there was the slightest chance that Tumaini had anything to do with how she felt. Afua did not deserve to be hurt like that.

Wracked with indecision, Siri got up and slowly made her way back towards Mount Tempest. She could still hear Afua's words ringing in her ears. "_You might want Siri to cry over Tumaini for the rest of her life, but that's not what she wants!"_

_No, it's not what I want,_ she thought wistfully, thinking of her deceased friend and wondering what he would make of all this. _But how do I know what I _do _want?_

* * *

**[Author's Note]**  
Oh, Kopa, Kopa, Kopa. Why do you do this to yourself? Hasn't Tumaini ever taught you the notion of forgiveness? Of course he has, I would know because he's my character. Well, you know what they say, things have to get worse before they get better, although at this rate it's hard to imagine Kopa messing anything else up to add to his overflowing list.

By the way, I know a lot of you wanted me to write a confrontation between Kopa and Kovu, even if none of you said so in as many words. As you might have noticed, the fight didn't really last that long because Vitani intervened, but if those two were to have a full-out scrap, who do you think would win?


	10. The Prisoner of the Heart

**[Author's Note]**  
Some of you might have forgotten, but Kopa's name translates into "heart", and Mateka into "prisoner" or "captive". Not going to say too much since this is going to be an emotional chapter, so I'll just leave it at that and let you read the chapter.

* * *

This time, Kopa didn't stop running even as his breath began to catch in his throat. He fought off the urge to stop to regain his breath, still spurred on by his emotions and the anger he was fighting to outrun. He didn't slow down or look back until Mount Tempest was barely visible through the grass in the darkened sky.

He finally stopped when he reached the top of a hill, panting as he flopped down beside a pool of water. His heart was still racing, but now it was more from exertion than his altercations with Vitani and Afua. He didn't know what he was doing, running all the way out here alone, wherever _here_ was. _What's the matter with me? Even I can't explain what I'm doing anymore_. He wished more than anything that Tumaini was still with him, alive, no matter how many times he told himself that his friend was gone. _Tumaini, look at me. I'm losing myself. I need you here with me_.

It was well into the night now, and he just laid there, trying to clear his thoughts. He could hear the crickets chirping, and beneath him the Earth was gradually cooling as it let out the heat it had absorbed during the day. The serenity of his surroundings did little to ease his troubled mind, however. How was it that in a few days he had turned himself against every single friend he had? _Zazu's dead because he tried to protect me. I've gotten Kiara, the best sister I could have asked for, so badly hurt my own father doesn't want to see me. I attacked Kovu even though all he was trying to do was keep me out of trouble. I pushed Mateka away when she told me she loved me and made her feel unappreciated. I blamed Vitani for falling into the river, but was it really her fault? I didn't listen to her, didn't even give her a chance. Afua, my best friend who's saved my life again and again these last few days, trusted me, and I just lashed out at him too. And Siri—what does she think of me now? She must miss Tumaini as much as I do, but she hasn't done any of the stupid things I have._

_This whole time I just wanted to get back to my pride,_ he thought, staring miserably at his own reflection in the water. _And all I've managed to do is disappoint everyone. Maybe I don't belong with them, maybe they're better off without me—_

Kopa's ears stood up as he heard a rustling behind him. He immediately leaped to his paws and turned around to face the sound coming towards him from the side of the hill. _What a stupid idea, running out here alone where anyone could sneak up on me._ He unsheathed his claws, shifting warily into an offensive stance.

The grass parted to reveal Mateka, who stepped slowly onto the top of the hill adjacent to the water hole. Her eyes were on him and she wasn't smiling, but she did look relieved to see him. "Kopa...there you are."

He relaxed, retracting his claws. "What are you doing here?" he asked cautiously, observing her for signs of her previous hostility.

"Kovu noticed you were missing, and Simba's got everyone searching all over Mount Tempest for you," she said. "I ran into Afua and he told me which way you went."

"Is Afua still mad at me?" he asked slowly.

"No," she said. "But he is worried you might've run into trouble again. He didn't want to come with me because he thought you wouldn't want to see him."

Hearing this made him feel rather guilty. While he had been sulking and thinking unkind thoughts, his friend was already concerned for him. After a moment's hesitation, Kopa asked, "Are _you_ still mad at me?"

Mateka shook her head and sighed heavily. "Kopa, you don't love me, and that's just how it is. I should have accepted that from the beginning. I shouldn't have forced you to kiss me, and what I said to Vitani was wrong. I was jealous, and unfair, and I wasn't a good friend by turning you against her. As soon as we go back, I'll apologize."

He nodded sheepishly. "I have a lot of apologizing to do."

"_Kopa..."_

He blinked, looking around cautiously. He was sure he had just heard his own name. He couldn't quite tell where it came from, but the voice sounded vaguely familiar. "Did you hear that?"

Mateka looked around as well. "What?"

"_Kopa...run..."_

"There it is again," Kopa said, feeling nervous for reasons he couldn't explain. "It's calling my name, and telling me to run."

"I don't hear anything," she murmured. She moved beside him and followed his gaze, trying to see what he was looking at.

"_Kopa...RUN..."_

Kopa looked down at the water, and for a heartbeat, he could have sworn he saw his own crimson eyes turn orange. "Tumaini?"

Jeraha leaped out of the grass, lunging straight at him with his claws extended. Kopa saw the movement out of the corner of his eye, and instinctively dropped to the ground. The enemy lion flew over his head, and his footpaw caught Kopa in the face, sending him flying into the grass. Despite how quickly it had happened, he couldn't help but feel as if Jeraha seemed to be moving more slowly than usual.

Mateka was frozen where she was, her petrified eyes fixed on Kopa. Her mouth was open and she was gasping faintly, unable to move because Jeraha's claws were embedded deep into her abdomen.

"MATEKA!" roared Kopa, leaping up and running at Jeraha. No, this couldn't be happening. He would _not_ allow it to happen.

Jeraha turned, and with one disdainful flick, hurled Mateka's limp form at him. Kopa was thrown to the ground and rolled down the side of the hill with her. As he landed with a soft _thud_ at the bottom of the hill, she fell beside him, unmoving. Blood was pouring from her ghastly wound, although she managed to choke out one word. "Run..."

Kopa got to his paws, frantically trying to pick her up without hurting her even more. He could bring her back, and the others could treat her. He could still save her.

Mateka feebly swatted his paw away. Jeraha was making his way down the hill, trying to spot them in the grass. "Don't...be stupid...run..."

_How can I do it?_ he thought frantically. _There has to be a way, I know it! Come on, think, think!_

"Do it...for me..." she whispered, her voice becoming weaker with every heartbeat. Jeraha was much closer now, though he seemed to be having trouble picking up on the scent of blood that was too strong to miss. Nonetheless, he would spot them very soon.

_I can't save her,_ he realized helplessly, even though he hated what it was telling him. _We're too far from Mount Tempest. She'll never make it._

Kopa stood up, tears flying from his eyes. And then he ran, leaving Mateka to die where she laid.

※※※

"Still no sign of him?" asked Vitani anxiously, as she exited Mount Tempest for the twentieth time after another fruitless search inside the habitat.

"None," muttered Kovu, who was looking around the windward side of the mountain and the surrounding grassland. "He could have run into the plains, or into the mountains, even..."

"He's in the grasslands, I'm sure of it," she said firmly. "But maybe he came back and he just wants to be alone..."

"Or maybe he's not coming back, Tani," her brother grunted. "After all he's done, I wouldn't be surprised if he decided to run away."

"That's not true," Vitani snapped immediately. "He'll come back, I just know it."

"We've found him!" shouted Hamu from the spot in the grass she had been searching. Relief flooded through Vitani, and she dashed over with all haste.

"I told you he'd come back," she said to Kovu, gathering around Hamu with the others. "Kopa, you're alright! Thank the Great Kings, I—Kopa, what is it? What's wrong?"

Kopa was sprawled on the ground, having clearly run a long way due to his ragged breathing. He was crying pitifully, his face buried in his paws and his entire body shaking uncontrollably. A couple of others tried to coax him into getting up, but either he didn't hear them or he refused to move. Vitani looked at Kovu, silently asking him what they should do, but he seemed to be at a loss as well.

"Bring him up to my quarters," said Simba quietly, who had appeared at Vitani's shoulder. Wordlessly, the others hefted the sobbing Kopa up and took him into Mount Tempest. She stared after them, wanting to follow. But maybe it would be better for the time being to give him and Simba some privacy. _What happened to him?_

※※※

It took Kopa a while to control himself, but Simba sat patiently before him, not saying a word as his son cried out his torment. When Kopa finally reduced himself to shaky breaths, he shamefully told Simba what had happened to Mateka. The king's face creased with sympathy upon hearing the news, and he slowly moved beside Kopa and embraced him.

Kiara, who was still recovering in Simba's quarters, looked saddened. "Oh, Kopa. I'm sorry..."

"This...this is all my fault," Kopa moaned, wiping the tears from his eyes. "I...come back and...and all I do is...mess things up...and now she's gone too...and I...can't believe it..." He sniffed and pushed his face against Simba. "I don't deserve to be your heir," he sobbed into his father's mane. "I don't deserve to be your _son_."

"Don't talk like that," said Simba softly, gently stroking Kopa's head. "It's not easy to lose a friend like that, but it wasn't your fault."

Kopa suddenly peeled himself away from his father, as if he was so disgusted with himself he couldn't bear to keep touching him. "She loved me. That's why she came for me even though she knew I didn't love her back. And I left her...I just _left_ her..."

"No, she told you to run," Simba reminded him gently. "She knew she was dying, but she wanted you to live. And you came back, which was the best thing you could have done for her."

Kopa didn't respond, but just let himself fall to the floor and laid there in silence. He could feel Simba and Kiara's eyes on him and he turned so that he was facing the wall.

_I'm so sorry, Mateka,_ he thought miserably as a fresh flow of tears came. _I'm sorry I didn't love you. I wish you were still alive. I'd have done anything if only...you..._

He could still remember how she had kissed him. He squeezed his eyes shut and curled up as his tears dripped down his face and onto the cold stony floor. _You deserved better than me. I wish you had known that._

※※※

Jeraha returned to the camp alone, stumbling a little as he made his way into the edge of the forest where the reinforced pride had decided to stay. Some of them were muttering amongst themselves and they looked a bit nervous, particularly the ones that had been rescued from their long captivity in Mount Tempest.

Kivuli, who had gathered the recently freed members of the pride, had finished inspecting Kiza and said to him, "You're fine."

The young lion walked off to rejoin the rest of the pride, looking a little confused about the nature of the inspection. She was about to check the next one when she heard Jeraha approaching and turned around. "There you are. You were supposed to have finished your rounds a while ago. Where have you been?"

"Was on my way back," Jeraha muttered, sounding a little disoriented. "Ran into Kopa an' a lioness...killed the lioness but he got 'way."

Kivuli frowned. "You sound a little strange. Come over here."

He obliged, padding over with more weight on his footfalls than he usually made. "Guess 'm bit tired. Dunno why, but I couldn' catch up t' Kopa...when he ran..." He shook his head vigorously, and his eyes looked a little more focused. He frowned, noticing the group of lions assembled around Kivuli, and the smaller, nervous-looking group of three huddled off to the side. "What's this for?"

Kivuli didn't answer. She picked up a dark green leaf from a pile of herbs and held it in front of Jeraha's face. "Exhale," she said. Puzzled, the burly lion breathed on the leaf.

Kivuli winced. Even if she didn't see the way the veins on the leaf turn a pale white, she caught the scent immediately and knew what it meant. Wordlessly, she scooped up some pale yellow paste and held it out to him. "Put this in your mouth and chew on it. Don't swallow."

Now thoroughly mystified, he took the paste and did as she said, chewing on it slowly. She watched him, waiting a few moments before saying, "Okay, spit it out."

He spat the blob onto the ground, and Kivuli's eyes tightened at what she saw. The paste had now clotted completely, and its surface was covered with blood. She let out a slow breath. "Take a drink from the pool," she said without looking at him. "Then wait over there with the others."

Jeraha was now convinced that something was wrong, but without question, he walked over to the nearby water pool and took a long drink from it. It tasted a bit odd, and he was certain that Kivuli had put something in it, but almost immediately, he felt his senses returning to their usual sharpness. Wordlessly, he joined the group of three sitting away from the other freed lions.

Kivuli picked up another leaf and repeated the procedure with the rest of the gathered pride members. They would breathe on the leaf, and she would either have no reaction and tell them they were free to go, or grimace whenever the leaf turned white. She would then give them a pawful of the paste to chew and spit; if there was no blood, she would tell them to drink from the pool and then let them go. If there was blood, they would take a drink and then join Jeraha and the others.

By the time Kivuli finished inspecting the last lion, there were five others apart from Jeraha still sitting by the water pool. She approached them, and her expression was rather strained. Her silver eyes shifted from one lion to the next, until they finally settled on Jeraha. "You've been afflicted by a poison commonly found in the swamp lily root," she said, her voice flat. "I'm fairly certain that the two prides had contaminated the water network in Mount Tempest before they sent in their teams."

The small group of lions immediately flew into a panic upon hearing this. "Poison?" one of the lionesses cried, her voice shaking with terror.

"Does this mean we're going to die?" asked another lion frantically.

"We can't die!" wailed a third. "We just escaped that nightmare of a mountain with our lives!"

"What do we do?" demanded a third lion. "You have to help us, Kivuli! You know how to get rid of the poison, right?"

Kivuli held up a paw for silence, although she looked rather weary. "The water I asked you to drink just now contains an antidote I mixed into the pool. You may have noticed that some of the others had also been poisoned, but it was weak enough to be counteracted. As for all of you...I'm afraid the poison has already spread through most of your bodies. The effects of the antidote will only be temporary."

The lions cried out in dismay and started babbling amongst themselves, their words high-pitched and tense with fear. Jeraha, who was feeling more alert because of the antidote, shouted, "Quiet! Kivuli, how much time do we have?"

"When the antidote starts to wear off, you will find your sense dulled and your movements slowed," she said quietly. "Before long, you will fall under a hallucination before the poison becomes fatal. And by my predictions...every single one of you will be dead by dawn."

This time, there was no frenzied uproar among the lions. Just a dead silence that fell over the group. Kivuli was watching Jeraha, whose face was a dauntless mask devoid of fear or self-pity. He was thinking hard, taking in the acceptance that he would never live to see another sunrise. _So, it looks like the two prides have killed me at last. I should have guessed that they could never have done it facing me_.

He remembered when he had been thrown into the water pool, not knowing at the time that a mouthful of water would be the death of him. He had been poisoned more recently than the others, who were already doomed by the time they were rescued. _That means I'll be the last one to fall. So be it then._

He turned his gaze to Kivuli, who was now staring back at him with a mix of consternation and something like disbelief that he was really going to die. The two of them had never agreed on many things, something that had only become more apparent as Janga's pride strengthened itself through bitterness in the last few years. But nonetheless, Jeraha and Kivuli had always been friends, through more than just their mutual agreement to protect Janga. _My time, it seems, is now fated to come to an end before theirs. But maybe I can still help Janga reach her victory, even if I won't be around to revel in it_. "When you see Janga again..." he began.

"I'll tell her it was because you put your own life on the line to save the others," Kivuli said gruffly, though he could tell she was trying to remain stoic. "And that you did it too."

Jeraha nodded. Now that his own death was in sight, all the disagreement they had in the past didn't seem to matter anymore. He turned his gaze to the others, who still seemed somewhat frightened by the notion of their impending deaths. "There aren't many who are fortunate enough to perceive their own deaths," he reminded them in a strong, even voice. "Fewer who can choose how they're going to die. So we're not going to grovel here and feel sorry for ourselves until death comes to drag us off. We are going to meet it head-on, and we're going to show the two prides that we don't fear any poison or army of lions! If we must die, then that's how we're going to be remembered!"

The gathered group of lions took in his words silently, then one by one, they roared in affirmation, their fear now replaced by sheer determination. The rest of the pride noticed their ardent furor and began to rally around them, looking at Jeraha curiously and wondering what was going on. The burly lion gave Kivuli a fleeting grin, which she returned candidly. He felt a familiar rush of reckless adventure take hold of him as he realized that this time, he had nothing to lose. "I'm leading my team to Mount Tempest," he said. "We're going to fight our way to Simba and Malka or die trying, simple as that. What's your plan?"

She told him. And he knew as soon as he heard it that his final stand would not be for nothing.

※※※

Vitani saw Kopa walking around aimlessly outside of Mount Tempest alone. She got up from where she was sitting by the water hole and hurried over. He turned his head as she neared, and she faltered. Did he still hate her?

"Hey," she said hesitantly.

"Hey," he murmured, his voice hollow and dejected.

"Kovu told me about Mateka," she sighed, walking in closer. He didn't back himself away. "I'm sorry, Kopa. I'm going to miss her."

He nodded, staring dully at the ground. The fur around his face was still damp with tears. "She wanted to apologize to you, when—when we got back," he finished unevenly, his voice threatening to crack.

"She was right about me though," Vitani said quietly. Kopa's gaze snapped up, and she saw that his eyes were rather moist again.

"I wanted to apologize too," he said miserably. "I don't know how I could have thought you betrayed me. But when Mateka came after me, even after all the things I said to everyone...I—I guess I—that was when I realized what I was doing." He shuddered. "I feel like I'm becoming a monster. Without Tumaini, I'm forgetting who I am. I feel...so alone..."

"You don't have to be," she whispered, pressing her face against his. "We're all here for you, Kopa. And I...I love you."

Kopa felt a warmth blossom in his heart, as if he was awakening himself fully for the first time and letting go of the heaviness he had been carrying for what had seemed like an eternity. And yet, he could sense himself holding back. _Is this right? Do I deserve to be loved like this? Mateka died knowing that I didn't love her. How can I call myself her friend like this?_

His conflicted thoughts were interrupted as six lions leaped out of the grass from the far side of the pond. Vitani turned sharply as she heard them running past the opposite end of the water's edge and straight towards the open entrance to Mount Tempest. One of them—Kopa recognized him as Jeraha—turned his head briefly to look at them, but then he looked away and kept running.

"They're going after your father!" Vitani yelled, running around the pond with Kopa right behind her, both trying to catch up to the enemy lions—but they had already disappeared into the darkness.

"We have to raise the alarm!" she said. "Kopa, go find Simba! I'll make sure Malka's alright! Go!"

They reached a junction of tunnels. She took the far-left passage sloping upwards towards the top levels of Mount Tempest, while Kopa continued down the centre tunnel leading to Simba's quarters. There was no time to question why Jeraha would make such a suicidal charge on the two prides—Kopa knew his father was in danger, and this time he would not disappoint him again.

* * *

**[Author's Note]**  
On the upside, Kopa's finally moving away from his darker side, but self-loathing makes a poor substitute. What's going to happen to happen now? Wait and see, the conclusion is coming your way very soon! My question to you for this chapter is, do you think of Jeraha as a pure-stock villain, or can you see some nobility to him? Leave your answers in the review!


	11. The Prince's Retribution

Vitani hadn't gone far up when she ran into Kovu in one of the upper levels. He immediately noticed her agitation and was about to say something, but she wasted no time answering questions or going into detail. "Six enemy lions have entered Mount Tempest! Spread the word and go find Simba! I need to check on Malka, no time to talk!" With that, she dashed past him and continued her way up the mountain stronghold.

Along the way, she met Siri, Hamu, Fuada, Kula and Chumvi, and her former fellow Outlanders Madoa and Alama, telling each of them what was going on in as little words as necessary. Siri decided to accompany her up to Malka's quarters, and it was with great relief that she found the pride king to be safe in his chamber with Afua.

Both of them became very worried when they heard about the situation. "Something's not right," said Malka, as they ran through the tunnels down towards Simba's quarters. "Why would there only be six of them coming to attack us?"

"It could be a diversion," said Afua, ever the resourceful thinker. "The rest of them could be lurking in the grasslands somewhere. Who knows what they're planning."

Malka nodded. "I'll take half the pride outside into the grounds and see if there's anything suspicious. If these lions are after me as well, they'll have to follow me out into the open."

"Speaking of diversions, what if they're trying to collapse the mountain on us?" Siri asked. "This whole commotion could be to keep us from going up to the basin."

Malka stiffened. "Good thinking. Siri, go gather a team and check it out. If Mount Tempest is in danger of collapsing, set off the signal and get out as quick as you can. The others should be able to get the message."

"On it," Siri said, stopping and breaking off from the group. She sprinted back up the tunnel, making her way towards the top levels.

"I hope they haven't left a trap for her up there," Afua said anxiously as they continued to cut through the tunnels.

"She'll be fine," said Malka. "Siri is a smart lioness. Now, Vitani, did you say Jeraha was leading these lions?"

"Yeah," said Vitani. "He even looked at Kopa and I when his team made a break for the entrance. But then he just kept running. I'm certain his priority is to find Simba."

"Then I hope he doesn't," Malka muttered anxiously. "Young Kiara is with him, and she's in no condition to fight or run."

※※※

Jeraha had no idea how he had found Simba's chamber through nothing but sheer luck and taking the less-occupied routes through the tunnels to avoid the majority of Mount Tempest's forces. But he was pleased all the same when him and his team managed to kill the guards outside the king's quarters and enter before most of the two prides even realized something was wrong.

There was no sign of Malka, so Jeraha presumed that the other pride king was elsewhere. Nonetheless, he would worry about that later. One lioness was sufficient to hold down the injured Kiara, two lions for Simba himself, and the other two appropriated a large boulder from the nearby water tunnel and jammed it tight into the chamber exit, and then guarded it in the passageway from being moved.

"Father!" screamed Kiara helplessly, struggling to get to Simba to no avail. He seemed more concerned about her, however.

"Don't touch her," the king growled, completely pinned down by his paws. "It's me you want, let her go..."

Jeraha approached him, deciding to complete his task quickly and find Malka. "So my lions weren't able to kill your daughter last time," he said. "I'll make sure we do it right this time." He raised his claws to sink them into Simba's face.

Out of nowhere, a blur leaped out from the water tunnel on the far side of the chamber. Jeraha turned to see Kopa staring him down, his fur dripping wet and his expression fierce.

"I won't let you hurt anyone else," he growled, his eyes blazing with fury.

"I wouldn't take another step if I were you," Jeraha replied coolly. "You can try and free your father, but if you do, your sister dies. And if you try to help her, well..."

"Kopa! Get Kiara to safety!" Simba shouted, still unable to move even in the slightest. Kopa hesitated, trying to figure out what he was going to do now.

"It doesn't matter to me who you pick," Jeraha said. "Did you think we came here expecting to make it out alive?"

"Kopa, do as I say!" Simba yelled. Kiara was still trying to free herself, although she didn't have much energy to call on. Kopa just stood there, trying to think of a way out of this. _I promised not to disappoint my father again, but he wants me to give him up for Kiara! There has to be another way!_

"Kopa, please," the king called desperately. "Do it for me!"

Kopa gave a start when he remembered that Mateka had spoken the same words right before she died. _I can't lose my father! I can't turn away again from someone I care about!_

_This is my fault,_ he thought in despair, still frozen where he was. _I must have provoked them into attacking us. Jeraha has been coming after me ever since I started that fire, and now my family is paying for it._

He remembered Kovu's warning to him. _If anything happens to them because of you, I will _never_ forgive you._ Kopa wished he was here right now, to help him find a way out of this mess. _Vitani's right. I can't do this alone._

As if summoned by his silent plea, Kovu's head appeared from the chamber aperture that let air in and out of Simba's quarters. Kopa blinked, unable to believe his eyes. The others hadn't spotted him, since they all had their backs turned to the opening. The dark-furred male was gesturing silently, pointing at Kopa, then to Kiara. He then pointed at himself, then at Simba. Kopa understood the message, and gave a very slight nod that he hoped Jeraha wouldn't notice.

In a flash, Kovu bound over the lip of the aperture, running straight at Simba. Kopa snapped into action at the same time, sprinting towards Kiara as fast as he could. Surprised, Jeraha moved for Kopa, when Kovu dealt him a fast kick in the side of the head, sending him flying into the water channel with a _splash_. The other lions blinked, confused and unable to react.

Unbeknownst to Kopa, the antidote that the enemy lions had taken were starting to wear off, and their reaction time began to slow down again. But he didn't have time to consider this as he smashed into the lioness holding down Kiara, knocking the enemy hard into the wall. Kovu easily killed one of the lions holding Simba with a brutal swipe across the windpipe. The pride king, now with one of his paws free, brought down his other captor with a blunt paw to the face.

"Simba, get Kiara out of here," Kovu said. His eyes were fixed on Jeraha, who was clambering out of the water channel. Simba nodded silently, as Kopa placed himself between his sister and the burly lion standing in front of the water channel, blocking their only chance of escape.

Kovu leaped at Jeraha, who charged to meet the attack head-on. The two lions collided, rolling heads over tails before stopping at the stone wall, with Jeraha pinning Kovu to the floor and his paws on the younger lion's windpipe. The dark-furred male writhed, struggling for breath and trying to overpower his larger opponent.

"No!" Kopa roared, running at Jeraha and smashing his paw into the side of the enemy lion's face. Jeraha roared back, angered, and lashed out with one back-pawed strike, catching Kopa in the face as well and knocking him away.

Simba, who had been leading Kiara towards the water channel, saw that Kovu was in trouble and hesitated. Jeraha glanced sideways, and with a hard punch, smashed his fist into Kovu's abdomen. The dark-furred male let out a drawn-out yell of pain, unable to double over because he was still pinned down. Kiara, hearing her mate's excruciation, dashed towards Jeraha. "Stop it!" she roared, unsheathing her claws and slashing at the enemy lion.

"Kiara, no!" Simba shouted, but it was too late. Jeraha caught her foreleg, holding her back easily.

"Kiara..." gasped Kovu, still recovering from the heavy blow he had taken. Kopa was about to move in again, when he noticed that the lioness he had knocked out was getting back up. He shifted to engage the enemy, when he noticed that her eyes were dulled and unfocused. She was muttering incoherently under her breath.

Then everyone froze as the enemy lioness suddenly let out an ear-piercing scream, clutching at her head as if fighting off some unspeakable torment. Kopa had no idea what was going on, and then he realized that the lioness was actually trying to claw her own eyes out. He cringed, turning away from the gruesome sight, as she stumbled around unevenly. She was still screaming with blood dripping down her face, although he couldn't tell if it was from her self-inflicted wounds or whatever she was seeing that was driving her mad. She fell over, twitched once, and died.

Jeraha realized that the others were starting to lapse into hallucinations, which meant that they would soon be of no use in a fight. He suddenly noticed that he couldn't maintain his tight grip on Kovu's throat, and that his other paw holding onto Kiara was weakening. _The poison is getting to me as well, he thought. I have to hurry._

But Kovu too had noticed that the burly lion had eased his grip on him. With one powerful push, he flung Jeraha off him, getting up and herding Kiara towards the water channel. "Get out of here!"

"I can't leave you," she protested.

"I'll be fine! Go!" he insisted. He stood in front of the water channel, blocking Jeraha from reaching Simba and Kiara. The enemy lion, however, was momentarily distracted by Kopa, who was forcing him back against the opposite wall with a feverish wave of attacks. Kovu waited until the reluctant Kiara stepped into the channel with Simba and disappeared into the tunnel before he moved to help Kopa.

This time, Kopa seemed to be winning the fight. Jeraha's movements were starting to slow, and many of his swipes were easy enough to avoid. Kopa nimbly dodged to the side and slashed with one paw, his claws leaving cuts from Jeraha's shoulder to his flank. Jeraha retaliated with a heavy swipe, managing to slug Kopa hard enough in the foreleg to cause him to stagger. But Kovu moved in to cover him, digging his claws under Jeraha's belly and flipping him off his paws and onto his back.

Still, Jeraha had some fight in him. He kicked out with one hind leg, catching Kovu in the face and sending him sprawling. The dark-furred male grunted and staggered back, disoriented. His back paws stumbled over the dead lioness lying by the aperture in the chamber wall. He lost his balance and tumbled out the hole with a cry of surprise.

Kopa, who had just been about to pounce on Jeraha, turned his head and saw what happened. Kovu was clinging onto the lip of the opening with one paw, though he was clearly too dazed to pull himself up. Without hesitation, Kopa bound over to the other prince and grasped onto his wrist with one paw, struggling to pull him up. Behind him, he could hear Jeraha lumbering over to the water channel, either to escape or to go after Simba and Kiara. But this time, Kopa was going to let him go, because saving someone meant more to him than the surest promise of revenge.

And then the boulder jammed into the chamber entrance tumbled in with a boom, and in ran Vitani, Afua, Babu, Boga, and a half dozen other lions. Lying outside in the passageway were the carcasses of the two enemy lions guarding the entrance. Kopa, who had managed to pull Kovu over the aperture and propped him up safely against the stone wall, watched blankly as his friends all made straight for Jeraha, who had collapsed just short of the water channel and was moving feebly to get back up.

Had Jeraha noticed the lions that were closing in on him, he might have been afraid. But his mind had already slipped away into the almost blissful hallucination that he was experiencing.

_"Before you die, you should know that you deserve this," said Janga, who was watching him coolly from a distance as her lions surrounded him, moving with no particular hurry._

_Even though he knew he was trapped, he couldn't help but smile at her. "I've been waiting for it to come to this for a long time now. You always find the truth to everything eventually, don't you, Janga? How is it that you're so brilliant when your father was such a fool?"_

_"My mother," she said simply, still regarding him with that same indifference. The lions were much closer now, and he knew they would act as soon as she gave the order. "The mother you had set out to murder." For a moment, her face betrayed the slightest hint of regret. "Why did you do it, old friend?"_

_"I did it for you," Jeraha replied calmly. "Even if it was something that would condemn me, I knew I had to do it for you."_

_She nodded, as if understanding. Yet he wondered if she ever would. "Kill him," she said. And then the lions moved at once, forcing him to the ground, jumping on him, tearing at his flesh with their teeth and claws._

_He would not close his eyes. He would not look away. He would keep his eyes fixed on Janga until there was no more life in them, so that she could see the truth there. So that she could see that he had been willing to give everything, even his own life, to ensure that she could finally take back what was hers._

I don't expect you to forgive me,_ he thought, too weak to even react to the pain that was erupting all over his body. _But if you find happiness when the Pridelands are yours again, that's enough for me.

Jeraha was far too delusional to realize that the teeth and claws ripping at him were very much real, not that it would have made much difference anyway. And it was impossible to tell whether it was the poison that ended his life first or the lions evoking their vengeance upon him. But no matter which it was, the bloody smile on Jeraha's face conveyed his belief that he had stayed loyal to Janga until the end—and paid his final price.

* * *

**[Author's Note]**  
And so we say goodbye to another one of my characters. I confess, it certainly turned out a lot more interesting than I had originally planned in the outline I wrote out. So how do you feel about Jeraha's death? I made sure to really put it into perspective to his actions, since a lot of you were quite condemning towards him for arranging Sarabi's death. But hey, she's been avenged now that both him and Fujo are gone. And Janga's now lost one of her closest friends, which she will not be happy about when she gets back...

By the way, I borrowed the names Madoa and Alama from Asante's story _The Lion King IV: The Rogue Pride_, with his permission of course. Yes, they are the two spot-eyed lionesses you saw in _The Lion King II: Simba's Pride_. I thought it'd be a nice reference to bring them up since they're likely to know Vitani well in the days when they were Outlanders.

* * *

**[Original Character Names]  
Fuata:** Follow  
**Madoa:** Spots  
**Alama:** Marks


	12. Epilogue

Malka had his entire pride run a thorough search through the entirety of Mount Tempest and the grasslands around it, just in case there were enemy lions still lurking around. When it was finally confirmed that all six of them were accounted for, he made sure that they left nothing inside the stronghold that could mean trouble. Afua had stopped to ask what that trouble could be, but everyone was too busy searching to answer. Even the water passages were all thoroughly checked, as well as the underground cavern where the waterfall was.

In the end, nothing suspicious was found, but several members of the pride had made some gruesome discoveries. "These lions actually resorted to eating each other for food," said Hamu after emerging from the cavern with her team.

"Were the lions already dead?" asked Afua, half-fascinated, half-horrified.

"Who knows," said Hamu, looking a little repulsed herself. "I don't really want to find out either. Malka had us take all the remains and carry them outside, which is good because I don't think anyone wants to live in Mount Tempest with those things lying around."

Simba and Malka also spent a very long time pondering why Jeraha had put himself in so much danger and decided to make a last stand inside Mount Tempest. They also discussed the possibilities of what it meant for the survivors of Janga's pride to lose one of their leaders, where they could be now, and what they were doing.

Kopa had decided finally to make a confession. "I saw Janga running off, several nights ago. I don't know where she was going, but it looked like she left Jeraha and Kivuli in charge."

"Was that the time you 'went for a walk'?" asked Simba, raising an eyebrow. Kopa nodded rather sheepishly, but the king seemed more concerned with present events than discussing his son's past disobedience.

"I don't like it," Malka murmured. "Janga wouldn't just run away. Take my word for it, she's up to something wherever she is, and when she comes back, it'll mean trouble for all of us."

"So what can we do but wait?" Simba sighed, casting his gaze skyward. "There's still no word from Nala and the others. I hope for everyone's sake that they've found Mheetu and the rest of Ni's pride, and are on their way back. We could use the extra numbers if Janga plans to attack Mount Tempest."

Kopa had nothing to contribute to his father's worrisome discussion with Malka, so he decided to go find something else to do. He walked past Afua and a few others, who were busy decontaminating the poisoned streams, and he was tempted to stop and talk to them, but he considered that he might be disrupting their work. Besides, he was still feeling rather guilty about what he had said to Afua the previous night, and decided to give his friend a bit more space before he set the record straight. Kopa was absentmindedly wondering for the hundredth time how it was that the Tempest pride learned all the things that were so difficult for him to figure out, when he suddenly bumped into Kovu as he rounded the mountain bend.

"Sorry," Kopa said, rubbing his head.

"_Hakuna matata_," Kovu replied, rubbing his head as well.

Kopa blinked. "What?"

"_Hakuna matata_," Kovu repeated, now grinning at the look of confusion on Kopa's face. "It means 'no worries'. Your father likes that saying, though these days he does have a lot to worry about. He picked it up from Timon and Pumbaa."

"Timon and Pumbaa, huh?" said Kopa wistfully, thinking of the comedic duo. "I haven't seen those two since I was a cub. Though I couldn't really remember them for a long time, which is hard to believe now that I think about it. I remember one time they told me this story about a snake when I was mad at Afua—" He broke off and sighed, unable to even say his friend's name without feeling guilty.

"Don't worry about Afua," Kovu reassured. "He says you're still his friend."

"I know," mumbled Kopa. "I've still got a lot of making up to do though. I've done a lot of damage in a very short amount of time."

The dark-furred male smirked. "Tell me about it. But all in good time, Kopa. All in good time."

Kopa just studied him for several moments, trying to figure something out. "You know, you've been trained to be a killer ever since you were a cub. You were taught to hate my father and to kill him when you were sent into the Pridelands. How did you just...escape that darkness?"

"I don't think I could have, if it wasn't for Kiara," said Kovu quietly. "She showed me how it felt to be loved—not kept around and used as a weapon—but truly loved. She had reason to distrust me as much as Simba did at the time, but instead she showed me kindness and, uh...fun." He gave a little cough when he said the last word.

"Fun? You didn't know what fun was?" asked Kopa, unable to help himself from smiling.

Kovu looked a bit defensive at seeing his amusement. "Hey, when you grow up with Vitani for a sister, you don't really get the chance to have a lot of fun."

"Oh, I don't think she's all that bad," said Kopa, still smiling. He felt his spirits lift even more when he looked over Kovu's shoulder and saw Vitani walking out of Mount Tempest. "Well, uh, I should get going now."

"See you later," said Kovu, but Kopa had already run past him. The dark-furred male turned around. "Hey, Kopa!"

Kopa stopped and glanced back, looking a little impatient. "What?"

"You're alright, you know that?"

"Uh, okay. Thanks."

"Yeah. Now try not to be too much of a sap, or she'll blow you off right away!"

"I don't know what you're talking about!"

Kovu grinned, pretending not to see Vitani turn her head as she saw Kopa running towards her. The dark-furred male disappeared into Mount Tempest, deciding to see how Kiara was doing. And maybe break the news to her as well.

"I see you made nice with Kovu," Vitani remarked as Kopa approached her.

"I have to start somewhere," he said with a shrug. "Might as well be the one I probably ticked off more than anyone else."

She nodded, thinking about everything that had happened in the last few days and seeing how much happier he looked since then. "Well, things are definitely going to get better now. It feels like...we finally have you back for the first time."

"Yeah," he said soberly. "I know what you mean."

"I stick by what I said though. Tumaini was with you your whole life, and it must have hurt you a lot to lose someone who was like a brother to you. I know how that feels." Then, she added with a hint of her familiar sarcasm, "And so does Kovu, even if you didn't think so."

Kopa winced. "You heard that, huh?"

The look she gave him was answer enough. Slowly, he said, "I really miss him. I probably will, every single day for the rest of my life. But I don't need revenge to do that." He let out a long breath, feeling more nervous than he could ever remember. It was a wonder Vitani couldn't hear how loudly his heart was beating. It had to be now or never, while he could still figure out what he was saying. "Vitani, you're the only one who can help me out of this darkness I've found in myself. I can't thank you enough for caring about me so much even though I've been anything but perfect lately. And I can't believe it's taken me this long to figure out, but...I love you."

Her blue eyes softened, and she nudged her face against his. "You want to know something, Kopa?" she whispered in his ear. "I've spent many years in that darkness too, but it was your memory that brought me out of it in the end." _I guess I need you as much as you need me._

The two of them walked together along the plateau, silently enjoying the other's company and their new bond. Although Kopa knew that they were a long way from being out of danger, and that Janga would try harder than ever to come after him once she learned that Jeraha was dead, he couldn't help but feel that no peril was too great now that he had Vitani. And with such an uncertain future, he decided that the best thing to do was to live in the present instead of worrying about the future.

"_Hakuna matata,_" Kopa whispered, taking Vitani's paw in his own.

※※※

They had finally made it.

It had been a long and tiring journey, but Kivuli kept pushing the pride onward and allowed for very few breaks. After all, there was no way to be certain how successful Jeraha's last stand had been. Whether Simba and Malka were alive or dead, she had to be certain that there would be no room for failure this time. It was something to strive for in the wake of Jeraha's death.

_And he's definitely dead by now,_ thought Kivuli, watching as the sun began to appear on the horizon. For some reason, it was a thought that was much harder to bear than she thought it would be. _We both knew it was inevitable. We made a plan, and he's done his part. Now I must do mine._

She recalled how Jeraha had led his ill-fated team towards Mount Tempest without any trace of fear. It would be something to tell Janga whenever it was that she returned. And it would be something Kivuli would remember, and reflect on.

_It took his imminent death for me to realize how strong we really were as friends,_ she thought as she and her team left behind the dry, cracked rocky terrain which began to blend into a thickening grass the further they walked. _How ironic, that we could not agree on how to lead a pride, and yet our bond had never felt stronger than that moment we headed our separate ways, knowing that we would never see each other again_. And to her own surprise, Kivuli felt a single tear fall from her eye and drop silently into the grass, which was now thick and lush underneath her paws. She stopped, as did the others, when they reached the top of a tall rolling hill. Everyone simply gazed in silence at what they saw before them.

"There it is," said Kivuli, staring fixedly at exactly what everyone else was. "Pride Rock."

* * *

**[Canon Character Names]  
Timon:** Honour (Greek)**  
Pumbaa:** Foolish**  
**

* * *

**[Author's Note]**

Cliffhanger for the win! How many of you saw that coming, huh? Looks like Kivuli's going to start some trouble in the near future, and in book 5 we'll finally return the setting to Pride Rock. In other news, I finally put Kopa and Vitani together (only took me 4 stories, huh?), as I'm sure many of you will be pleased about. Well, that's book 4 for you, thanks for reading, and please rate this story on the poll on my profile page! The poll closes when I start posting chapters to _Kopa's Legacy: The Eye of the Tempest_, which is currently set for release on June 17, 2013. Stay tuned for book 5, where the identity of the Keepers will be revealed, Mheetu will finally be introduced, and the series will be completed with one final conflict where all will be made right but at a very high price. I'll announce the lottery winners either by May 10 or if this story reaches 150 reviews. Until then, see you all later!

—IncarnateFirefly


	13. Book 5 Preview (Prologue)

**[Author's Note]**

Hey guys, hope you haven't forgotten me just yet! I just wanted to post this to let you all know that book 5 is still underway, even though I've had a few delays the last couple of weeks. But as promised, I will try to get chapter 1 up by June 17th, even if I haven't finished writing the entire story by then. In the meantime, I thought I'd post a preview of the story so you guys don't have to wait all that long for me. With this prologue, I have finally introduced a character whose named I've dropped many times in the last couple of stories and whom a lot of you are waiting to read about. So here you go, enjoy :)

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The rain stormed down relentlessly in a heavy deluge that immersed the air with swift, thick sheets of downpour. It was now very late into the night and the storm's intensity was drowning out any noise that had been present before, showing no sign of letting up. Although the plains were usually filled with life, even the hardiest creatures had wisely chosen to seek shelter rather than brave the storm; there was no telling how long it would last. Not a single star was visible tonight, making it difficult to see very far in any direction. It was as if the Earth had been encompassed by some dark, overbearing presence.

A fork of lightning blazed brilliantly across the sky, illuminating the dark, massive clouds hanging over the land for a brief moment. A lone male lion, staring into the night under the merciful cover of a short cave set into a kopje, winced and turned away at the sudden flash.

"Decided to volunteer for sentry duty, hm?" came a deep voice from behind him.

The lion turned around, fixing his viridian green eyes on the old lion who had approached him. "I...guess I just can't sleep," he replied, half-apologetically. There were a number of other lions with them in the cave, and they had agreed how important it was to be properly rested so that they could move quickly at any given time. And that was something he out of all of them was supposed to be doing.

That was clearly what the other lion was thinking as well, for he said, "You don't think Janga is going to find us in this weather, do you?"

"I wouldn't be surprised," the younger lion replied wearily. "But that's not what's keeping me up, Mega." Although he wasn't too far into his adulthood, the tension etched into his face made him look like someone much older.

Mega's face creased with sympathy. "Mheetu, I know these last few days haven't been easy for you. And I know things look bad right now. But we've almost made it out of this crater, and if your friends are as trustworthy as you say, then they'll get us past the Keepers soon. Who knows, maybe Ni and the others have already made it to the Pridelands and are waiting for us."

Mheetu remained silent, his expression etched with uneasiness. When he didn't reply, Mega added, somewhat hesitantly, "If you want, we can get everyone moving before dawn. If we head out in the storm, we might get lucky and slip past the Keepers."

"No," Mheetu said, shaking his head. "Some of the others are still recovering. We can't force them to move until they're ready."

The older lion was quiet again, though this time it was not contemplation, but something like reluctance. "If you want...you can go on ahead. I'll stay with the others and we'll find some way to catch up."

"I can't do that," Mheetu protested.

"Mheetu," Mega said firmly. "It's you they're after. As long as you're here, you're in danger. It's imperative that you get to safety, even if we don't. We'll be fine, and maybe it's better that we don't slow you down—"

"No." Mheetu's reply was flat and unwavering. "You all put yourselves at risk for me. Protected me, even though you knew the Keepers would make you all pay for it. I'm not leaving any of you behind, because I owe you that much. Either we all go, or we don't go at all."

Mega stared into his eyes silently. Every time he saw those eyes, he thought he could see Sarafina staring back at him. And he remembered the way she looked when she had made up her mind on something; it was the same way Mheetu looked now. The old lion couldn't help but smile at the resemblance. "You're very loyal, Mheetu. Thank you." He turned away and headed deeper into the cave to get some rest.

Mheetu turned back to face the cave mouth as thunder rolled across the sky. It had been a while since he'd had time to think about everything that had happened. Almost an entire moon cycle had passed since this had all started, and yet he felt as if it had all happened so quickly.

Too quickly. Janga, how did it come to this? he thought dejectedly. Why didn't you believe me? I thought you trusted me. I thought...

I thought you loved me.

He quickly shut his mind to the thought. He couldn't reflect on it, because it would hurt too much if he did. Why it happened or what could have been was out of his control now. Instead, he focused on what was real, what he could still do right. We'll find the mountains once we're out of the crater. And then we'll reach the Pridelands. It would be a long journey, but he would willingly take the distance if it meant that they would be safe from the creatures that were hunting them.

Mom. Nala. I hope you're both well. I'm alive. And I'll be home soon.

※※※

Every morning Sarafina woke up, she felt strange at how small the numbers of the pride were. Maybe it was because she had spent more than half her life at Pride Rock, but it was almost unnerving to come back and see her home almost completely deserted, and the numerous lions that once roamed the land were now mostly absent.

A few days ago she had returned with a few lions too wounded to do anything more exerting than walking, and met up with the Pridelanders' few elder lions that had stayed behind. And now they had nothing to do but wait. At least until enough of them were well enough to recover and head back for Mount Tempest.

Rafiki had been dropping in every morning to check on the injured. Not for the first time, Sarafina was grateful for his knowledge of healing. Already, many of the others were looking in better shape and were walking around as if they had never been hurt. Still, the mandrill had advised them to take it easy for a little longer, until their wounds were fully healed. No one questioned the suggestion.

Sarafina often inspected the pride members to make sure they were alright. And even though both she and Rafiki knew that she wasn't really being much help, he said nothing about it, because he knew that it kept her mind off other things. Because whenever she found herself sitting around with nothing to do, she began to worry. How are the others doing at Mount Tempest? Have they taken it back? Have they defeated Janga? Or has she won and is on her way back right now?

It was always a possibility, though not one that Sarafina liked at all. Why wasn't she taking precautions, doing something to make sure that the lions she was in charge of weren't also in danger of being killed? But what can I do? Was it because she refused to entertain the notion that all was lost, that Simba and her beloved Nala were dead?

Sarafina gritted her teeth, trying to block out the terrible thought. How did it all come to this? Her best friend Sarabi was dead, rumoured to have been killed by Janga herself. Now the rest of the Pridelanders' royal family was in danger; not only Simba and Nala, or Kovu, Kiara, and Vitani who had put themselves at just as much risk, but also Simba and Nala's long-lost son Kopa, who had actually been alive all this time. There was no telling what was happening to them right now. Janga, what could have possibly driven you to bring war to your own family?

Sarafina still remembered the angry, confused young lioness that had left the Pridelands so long ago, but she never would have dreamed that she would do any of the things she did now. How is it that Scar has damaged her so badly that she's turned against everyone she once cared about?

"Sarafina! Oh, this is bad! Sarafina, you've gotta do something!"

Sarafina gave a start at the sound of the panicked voice as the other lions awoke with a start. She turned to look out the cave and saw a frantic Timon on Pumbaa's back, the warthog dashing towards her with all haste. She got to her paws immediately. "Timon, what's wrong?"

"We've got a big problem!" the meerkat screeched, his eyes wide with fear. "What do we do? We can't hide, they're coming right this way! We've gotta run! Come on, we have to get outta here!"

"What's this about?" she asked sharply. She never doubted Timon's word, but the meerkat was sometimes bad at getting to the point.

Pumbaa, thankfully, took the initiative. "There's a group of lions, heading this way, Sarafina! And they're not ours!"

"Lions?" she repeated, instantly alert. "How many?"

"I dunno," he admitted nervously, his brow tense as he thought hard to what he saw. "Must be at least twelve...could be more..."

This isn't good, Sarafina thought. There were only nine lions including herself present at Pride Rock, and they were either recovering from their wounds or were too old to put up a good fight. Rafiki couldn't do much against lions either, nor could Timon or Pumbaa. And she had no doubt as to these lions' intentions, if they were here like this. Is this it? Has Janga finally broken through to the Pridelands?

"Sarafina?" one of the lionesses said anxiously. "What are we going to do?"

Sarafina settled her racing mind with some difficulty, and didn't waste further time pondering. If things had gone bad at Mount Tempest, then there was only one thing she could do. "Let's get moving. Now."


End file.
